Humanities

Humanities

Introduction

The history of Art is very rich and is divided into Art Periods. An art period may be defined as the developmental phase whereby a group of artists are well renowned and they work to bring about a revolution in the movement of art (Cole, 2005). The art periods are most likely characterized as the Art of reason. This means that the art work in these periods worshiped individuality and social order. Art, through the ages, has always been the most dominant ages.

The two well renowned historical periods of art that have been selected for this paper are the Renaissance and Romanticism. It presents the characteristics, style and social conditions of the two art periods, and builds a relationship between them through discussion of similarities and differences.

Renaissance

The historical Art Period Renaissance dates between c. 1300 - c. 1602. This period of European art is not only the most famous but is also the most disputed. It has its own characteristics which are pretty unique. The period which started from Italy was both revolutionary and modern. In this period, there are many things to learn in the scientific and philosophical context. The understanding of human anatomy is best with the art works from the period where the artists went beyond the ordinary to discover human body. The amount of art that has been produced in this era is extraordinary (McFarlane, 1974). Maestros such as Florence, Leo X are from the same period. The people of the era had a thing for art. This was common in all the social classes. The taste however differed slightly. While the middle classes of the time were more into devotional paintings, the upper class wanted paintings of saints and Jesus.

The social condition at the time was marked by status consciousness in that the status and respect that a child received was not determined by his own talent but by the status of his parents. The distribution of wealth was greatly imbalanced and people were extremely consumption oriented (Kristeller, 1961).

Romanticism

Romanticism came post Renaissance, and lasted between 1790 - 1880. It is another historical art movement that dates back to the eighteenth century. This was a response to the Industrial Revolution. The era held that science cannot be rationalized as was being done. Since, it was against this form of rationalization. Hence, the title Romanticism. The enlightenment that led to the concept of reason is art was strongly opposed by the proponents of this movement. The artists of this era, on the other hand, believed in imagination and the power of emotions (Ferguson, 1948). They held that emotions had a power far beyond reason for reason may limit creativity and innovation.

The era is marked by the love for all forms of literature including music, art and literature. These were basically inspired by the French Revolution. Romanticism strived to achieve a connection with nature. The artists of this period were inspired by the beauty of earth reflected in humans as well as ...