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ROMANTICISM
ROMANTICISM
When we hear the word "romance," we generally think of valentines, chocolates, flowers, long walks on the beach, or dinner by candlelight.
But in medieval times, a romance was an adventure story written or spoken in the "romance" languages of French, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish, as opposed to the traditional Latin. Romances often centered on a knight's quest and featured magical creatures such as sorcerers, dragons, and fairies. The church disapproved of romances, but that didn't stop the tales from spreading.
OBJECTIVES
OBJECTIVES
Discuss the origins of the Romantic movement.
Differentiate Romantic art from Neoclassical art.
Identify the themes of Continental European painters.
Describe Romantic landscape painting in England and America.
VOCABULARY
PRECURSORS TO ROMANTICISM
PRECURSORS TO ROMANTICISM
In the 1700s, French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote several books that had a profound influence on the style of art, literature, and music of the next century. His ideas were a reaction against the primacy of reason valued by the Neoclassicists. Under Rousseau's influence, emotional feelings became as important as reason. This fundamental shift would lead to the movement known as Romanticism.
As you learned earlier, the word romance was first applied to fanciful medieval stories. In the eighteenth century, "romantic" images included:
wild, mysterious scenery
sublime prospects
ruins
Beauty, in the classical sense of delicacy and harmony, was no longer important. The sublime, on the other hand, was associated with the terrifying and the obscure. When English and German poets in the 1790s began writing romantic poetry, feeling and imagination took precedence over reason. Visual artists soon adopted the trend.
When English and German romantic poetry and literature appeared in the 1790s, it began a shift away from a focus on reason toward a concentration on feeling and imagination, which was soon to be reflected in the visual arts.
Read this poem by the English poet and artist William Blake. The poem is about nature, but it is also about death.
The Sick Rose
O rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy,
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.
The poem is about nature, but it is also about death and destruction. The Romantics turned to nature and imagination for inspiration. They cherished freedom and individuality. But there was a dark side to Romanticism as well. The Romantics were interested in the extremes of behaviors, fantasy and the world of dreams, and sometimes of nightmares. Works such as Edgar Allen Poe's poem The Raven typify this curiosity about what happens when you reject reason in favor of imagination.
The Nightmare, by Henry Fuseli, 1781 — Wikimedia
Another type of nightmare can be seen in this oil painting by Henry Fuseli, called The Nightmare, painted in 1781. Notice the dramatic (yet realistic) position of the woman’s body and the fantastic creatures who are part of the nightmare. This painting blends reality and fantasy in a manner typical of romanticism.
ROMANTIC ART – GOYA AND GÉRICAULT
ROMANTIC ART – GOYA AND GÉRICAULT
The Romantic movement in art took place in Europe and America during the first half of the 19th century. While we cannot easily pigeonhole Romanticism into a set of clearly defined principles, general characteristics are distinguishable, particularly in comparison to Neoclassicism.
What do you think the Romantics were longing for? Clearly, the sensibility of Romanticism is feeling.
Goya
One of the earliest painters in the romantic style was the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. His painting, The Third of May, for example conveyed strong emotions. For the early part of his career, Goya was a court artist, but political turmoil and a disease that left him totally deaf prompted Goya to change direction. His work became darker and more pessimistic. He created etchings that mocked society and its superstitions. He later witnessed the bloodshed between the French soldiers and Spanish citizens during the Napoleon’s reign of Spain and his horror is evident in his paintings depicting these events.
Around 1820, Goya painted a series of frescoes on the wall of his country house. The "Black Paintings" portray scenes of witchcraft and other strange activities. These are considered to be some of his greatest works.
Satan Devouring One of His Children, by Francisco Goya, 1820. — Wikimedia
Goya had a powerful influence in mid nineteenth century painting and printmaking as well as art in the twentieth century.
Théodore Géricault
Géricault's painting The Raft of the Medusa — Wikimedia
Théodore Géricault was a major figure in French romanticism. He portrayed the experience of suffering in his paintings of battles, emphasizing the ability to endure rather than heroic acts.
As you look at his work, notice how the light and dark tones contrast and conflict with each other. The brushstrokes convey a sense of power, but the subject matter is one of lonely isolation. In The Raft of the Medusa (finished 1819), Gericault conveys the plight of ordinary people with a passionate intensity and elevates their suffering to mythic proportions.
Examine the painting above. Notice the diagonal lines in the composition. The figure at the top of the pyramid is the one African in the party, a symbol of Gericault's opposition to the slave trade. Notice the lifelike figures and the intense emotionality of the picture. What else do you notice? Consider how the artist uses color and light.
ROMANTIC ART – DELACROIX AND FRIEDRICH
ROMANTIC ART – DELACROIX AND FRIEDRICH
Eugène Delacroix
Delacroix's painting Death at Sardanpalus portrays the death of an Assyrian king. — Wikimedia
Delacroix learned how to paint in the neoclassical style, but he was also influenced by Peter Paul Rubens' colorful, opulent style. In addition, he emulated the romantic painter Théodore Géricault, especially in his choice of subject matter and the message of egalitarianism that his paintings imparted. Delacroix was not only influenced by other artists, but by music as well. He compared the emotionalism of music to color. One of his techniques was to use color to create optical effects.
Notice the energy in his masterpiece Liberty Leading the People (1830. Louvre). Notice also how the red of the flag is juxtaposed with the blue of the sky and how the figures seem to come from the clouds. ). In this painting, the figure of the woman is seen as a symbol or an allegory for the concept of liberty. Notice how different this is from the revolution-inspired painting of Jacques- Louis David The Oath of the Horatii..
Caspar David Friedrich
Chalk Cliffs on Rugen. Caspar David Friedrich. — Wikimedia
The most well-known German Romantic painter, painter considered by many art historians to be the greatest of his period, is Caspar David Friedrich
The painting Wanderer above the Sea of Fog combines a clean realistic style of painting with a sense of mysticism. The figure is facing a mysterious landscape yet seems resolute in his stance. There is also a somber tone in the choice of colors and the isolated dark figure.
Describe this painting.
English artists also made their mark with Romantic landscapes suffused with romantic feeling. Joseph Mallord William Turner stood out even among the Romantics. Turner blended the natural elements of his pictures so that there was no longer any clear distinction among clouds, mist, sea, etc. He also created an atmospheric effect with light.
In The Shipwreck of the Minotaur, Turner uses a topic similar to Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa, but notice how much wilder the sea is and how strong a role the light plays in the painting.
ROMANTIC ART – THE HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL
ROMANTIC ART – THE HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL
In America, Romantic painting was found among a group of painters called Hudson River School. These painters were inspired by the unspoiled wilderness of the northeastern United States. Thomas Cole founded the movement.
Landscape with Ruined Tower Notice the dramatic play of color and light in the sky and the naturalism of the tower and the rocks in the foreground. Notice also the contrast between the weather depicted in the different sections of the painting.
Romanticism's Influence
Portrait of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, by Maurice Quentin de La Tour — Wikimedia
Romanticism has had a strong influence on later painting. Impressionism, the symbolist movement, expressionism and surrealism all share the characteristics of imagination and dreamlike images. The Romantics put forth ideas about the importance of originality and the freedom of the artist that continue to play a role in the production of art.
LET'S REVIEW!
LET'S REVIEW!
In this lesson, you have covered the following topics:
Romanticism was set into motion by the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a French philosopher and writer
Romantics were inspired by emotions rather than reason and they had a desire for freedom and individuality
Such painters as Fuseli, Goya, Gericault, Delacroix and Friedrich employed dramatic subjects, severe light and dark contrasts, and violent compositions to create an emotional charge in their work
English and American painters such as Turner and Cole took these same qualities and applied them to landscapes
Complete the following quiz.
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