The Romantic and Realist styles dominated 19th century European art. Inspired by an idealized view of nature and human beauty, Romantic artists ACCENTUATED or emphasized their subjects’ beauty or heroism while deliberately hiding all imperfections.
Realism began as an attempt to COUNTERACT or reverse Romantic excesses. By ESCHEWING or deliberately avoiding idealized Romantic portrayal, Realist artists focused instead on painting portraits of workers and peasants.
The Realist versus Romantic cluster has generated a significant number of vocabulary in context questions. Mastering the definitions of ACCENTUATE, COUNTERACT, and ESCHEWING will help you avoid careless mistakes. For example, don’t confuse RECTIFY with ACCENTUATE. RECTIFY means to correct a mistake. Romantic artists ACCENTUATED their subjects’ beauty; they did not attempt to RECTIFY or correct their subject’s physical appearance.
ACCENTUATE – to exaggerate and magnify; make more noticeable
COUNTERACT – to reverse the effect of something
ESCHEWING – to deliberately avoid