Neo-Classical Artists

• Many of the artists in the early part of the 19th century were associated with Neo-Classicism, which first originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe where the spirit of Enlightenment still prevailed. According to Enlightenment ideals, man (rather than God) was celebrated. Neo-Classical artists, like Enlightenment thinkers, favored human intellect and achievement and deliberately imitated Roman and Greek art to return to classical ideals that exalted man, rather than religious authorities. Perhaps the most famous Neo-Classical artist is Jacques Louis David, who depicted Socrates preparing to drink Hemlock in order to show that man should always be loyal to his own convictions first and foremost. Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin, Nicolas Poussin and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres are other notable Neo-Classical artists.
  
  

Romantic Artists

• Romantic artists were those inspired by the ideals of the Romantic philosophical and cultural movement, which sought to revolt against the established values of society and religion. Romantics exalted the individual over society and the imagination and emotions over reason and rational. Perhaps most importantly, Romantics celebrated nature and its sublime grandeur. Romantic painters frequently depicted ruins covered in ivy to show that human achievement is inevitably subject to the destructive winds of nature. Romantics were in awe of nature's capacity to destroy, but believed such destruction is necessary to restore equilibrium and order to cultures that have grown too decadent. Famous Romantic artists include Thomas Cole, Thomas Moran, Baron A. J. Gros, John Constable, Gilbert Stuart and John Henry Fuseli.
  
  

Realist Artists

• The Realists were artists who focused on scientific concepts of vision, such as the optical effects of light. The Realists also used art to advocate democratic ideals by depicting "real life," rather than scenes of upper class propriety, which were glorified in Classical and Romantic art. In order to depict reality honestly, Realist artists used as subject matter the world around them, which included commonplace, middle-class life. Famous realists include Marie Rosalie Bonheur, John Singleton Copley, Gustave Courbet, Edgar Degas, Thomas Eakins, Wilhelm Leibl and Edouard Manet.
  
  

Impressionist Artists

• Impressionist artists first debuted in Paris. Impressionist painters used natural light and the technique of rapid brushwork to depict landscapes. In the United States, artists originally resisted the Impressionist movement, but finally accepted and incorporated the style toward the later half of the 19th century. Some impressionist painters, such as Claude Monet, depicted mainly tranquil scenes of nature, such as ponds, lakes and flowered fields. Piette-August Renoir often depicted subjects (mostly female) in nature. Other impressionist painters, such as Americans William Merritt Chase and John Singer Sargent, chose lively urban settings. The cultural energy in New York provided new Impressionist artists with much subject material.