Theodore Gericault, Insane Woman 1822-1823, Oil on canvas, 2’ 4” x 1’ 9”
Acting in response to the rational and composed Neoclassical mind, a new movement arose in 1750 known as Romanticism. Unlike Neoclassicism, the focus of Romanticism was to unleash the imagination and embrace the darker side of humanity. Gericault, like other Romantic artists, had an interest in portraying a person while revealing their emotions and the intentions of their mind.
Gericault believed that a person’s true character could be revealed in a person’s face and especially in their moments of death or in madness. The “psychic facts” of the Insane Woman are represented by depicting the woman looking away from the audience with her eyes red from suffering. The artwork communicates to the audience that she is not a typical idealized because she is not young and beautiful, yet Gericault idealizes her through her composed emotions. By doing so Gericault reveals another side of humanity that has gone overlooked since the Greek Hellenistic period.
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Theodore Gericault, Insane Woman 1822-1823, Oil on canvas, 2’ 4” x 1’ 9”
Acting in response to the rational and composed Neoclassical mind, a new movement arose in 1750 known as Romanticism. Unlike Neoclassicism, the focus of Romanticism was to unleash the imagination and embrace the darker side of humanity. Gericault, like other Romantic artists, had an interest in portraying a person while revealing their emotions and the intentions of their mind.
Gericault believed that a person’s true character could be revealed in a person’s face and especially in their moments of death or in madness. The “psychic facts” of the Insane Woman are represented by depicting the woman looking away from the audience with her eyes red from suffering. The artwork communicates to the audience that she is not a typical idealized because she is not young and beautiful, yet Gericault idealizes her through her composed emotions. By doing so Gericault reveals another side of humanity that has gone overlooked since the Greek Hellenistic period.