|
Romanticism
In the Romantic period, there is a clear tendency towards
focusing on art, and defiance against conventions. The search is for a
living, exploratory art, instead of fossil art, recreating styles of the
past. The artistic centre moves to Paris.
"Realism" - a
school that aspired to present nature as it is, with
no staging or revere to harmony and symmetry. Simple and daily scenes,
common people from all parts of the population, with no beautification
or refining effects. This trend challenged the "Academy", that
had set rules as to what may be painted and how one should paint, and believed
in the "idealisation" of nature.
Opera musicians created their own
"realism" in the opera verismo,
which is "closer to reality". Different operas described
harsh, cruel stories, and certainly not mythological themes, as did operas
of the past. This angle was Bizet's
inspiration for his passionate opera "Carmen",
and Puccini
used it for the Japanese geisha story of "Madam
Butterfly".
|