The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was a extremely progressive time in history. People started to discredit religion on favor of science and the monarch in favor of a democracy. There were many enlightenment thinkers who were able to show to the world the power of knowledge and freedom. Literacy rates skyrocketed in many rural areas in Europe and even rose in the cities. The nobility was taken off their pedestal and the middle class became much more prominent. As the result of the rise of science there were many important scientific discoveries occurred during the time. Oxygen and electricity were discovered to name a few. Additionally because of the disdain for the monarchs people created the basic human rights, such as life liberty and property, which was later changed in America to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. People were able to speak their minds and did not have to fear the government because it was of the people for the people.Art was also very prominent during the Enlightenment. Before artwork was much more ornate and regal, mainly because the royalty and nobility were the only ones who commissioned pieces. They were framed in ornate gold frames that were as much a part of the art as the piece itself. In the enlightenment artists started to paint the people more. They focused on the common man as the subject of their piece and often scorned the nobly in the pieces. They used light to emphasize the focus of their piece which was usually centrally located. Still life paintings also became more prevalent as artists would paint the mundane of the everyday, to show the toils and their reverence to the common man.
Theobald Reinhold von Oër: The Weimar Court of Muses. Schiller in Tiefurt Reading to the Court, 1860 © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Here is a great example of a piece from the enlightenment. In the painting we are able to see a man teaching a whole crowd. We are able to see in the painting the higher value on education. The book is placed in the center of the piece to emphasize its importance. Additionally the people of the crowd don't appear to be the nobility but rather the middle class, showing the change in class dynamics of the time.
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Great post! The age of enlightenment was a time where many things were challenged. I really like how during this period the middle class rose and showed how they were capable of obtaining knowledge just like the upper class and nobles. This huge concept was shown in many aspects of the period especially art and music. Your analysis of the painting was spot on, the two themes of education and the rise of the middle class is evident. These themes along with various ones are also portrayed in music! Do you truly believe that all of these characteristics and themes are all portrayed intentionally in art and music during this time period?
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I am also wondering the same question as Madison; I think it is a great question that a lot of people are wondering. I think it is really hard to know of the characteristics were intentionally in the art and music, I really don't know what to believe. The characteristics and themes in the music and art are so similar to everything going on in the Enlightenment that it’s hard to believe that it wasn’t intentional. On the other hand these artists could have had no idea what they were doing, but since they were so into the characteristics and themes during the Enlightenment that it just happened to show up in their music. I don’t think that anyone can ever have a definite answer on this question but it is very interesting to think about.
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