Romanticism v. Realism

Romanticism vs. Realism Artistic movements in the 19th century were direct reactions towards (or against) political and social situations during the time. Romanticism was a movement against the ideas of the Enlightenment that had been ingrained into European people since the early 1700s. The Enlightenment emphasized reason and uniform ideals in the arts. Romanticism can be seen as a direct revolt against the Enlightenment. Romantic artists constantly strived for unique and different ideas, whereas the …

…feelings from the viewer, while The Stonebreakers was done in this way to make the picture look less like a painting and more realistic. Both paintings also had the goal of finding Truth, but in Romanticism, truth was embodied by nature, in Realism truth was found in everyday events and normality. Although both of these paintings are of the working class, they make the viewer feel very different, which is what distinguishes the two periods.