As a hopeless romantic I am going to spare you scenes or romanticism. Instead, the works below are from the Realism style of art. Realist are often depicts raw scenes that make social commentaries that enlighten the audiences of the realities of life.
George Bellows’ Both Members of This Club is probably my favorite piece of art in this course but I am biased as a boxer. Bellows’ use of oil painting really complimented his aggressive and violent brushwork that facilitate the illusion of motion in this art as the boxers engage each other. The artist enhances the dramatic tension between the two blue collar fighters and the white collar patrons by putting a single source of light on the fighters and making the fighter on the left, who is also the central focal point of the painting, very fair in skin tone. Speaking of the patrons, the audience depicted have blurred and almost demonic faces. The entirety of the scene really speaks to the disparity between social classes especially going into the industrial era. Provides social commentary on social injustice. Portrays the middle class man as the subjects or rather objects of entertainment for the upper class. The fighters seem more victim to the system than their actual opponent who is not unlike them. Neither of the fighters are villainized, instead the aforementioned disfigured faces of the audience is almost demonic as they antagonize the subjects.
Krestny Khod’s Religious Procession above is in a panoramic style. Like most of realist work, the scene provides social commentary on the oppression of people and the effects of the war and overbearing militia on the poor. Two women are crying with an empty box that should hold their religious icon but the soldiers more than likely took it from them. The priest looks pompous and rich, depicting the ironic vanity of the procession & the church clergy. To the left there is a militia separating most of the procession with the poorest peasants, one guy even has a whip. There led by a hunchback boy which represents the oppression of said peasants. This painting was meant to be a narrative and example of the injustice of Repin’s own country and his support of the lower classes/class reform.