A movement including literature, art, music, and intellectualism, Romanticism first appeared in Europe in the late 1700s and reached its height in the 1800s. It responded to the Enlightenment’s insistence on logic, reason, and order. Instead, Romanticism exalted the person, nature, emotion, and imagination. Romanticism significantly influenced the visual arts, including architecture, sculpture, and painting.
In the annals of European and American consciousness, romanticism was a vast movement that opposed the triumph of the European Enlightenment. It also serves as a catch-all for the more significant number of progressive tendencies discernible in European literature during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Romanticism is a temporary phenomenon that defies definition.
It was first created in Germany and Great Britain, then later extended to France and Spain. The first was a literary craze that also affected music and visual arts. It was closely associated with the principles of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and historically followed the Enlightenment period, opposing the aristocracy of the day. Romanticism’s primary feature is its emphasis on the difficulty of expressing solid feelings via art and its greater formal freedom compared to more classical notions. Conventional wisdom places the birth of the Romantic Movement in or around 1780. But the term “Romantic period” more accurately refers to the years between 1798, when S.T. Coleridge and William Wordsworth published the Lyrical Ballads, and 1832 when Sir Walter Scott, the novelist, passed away and the other notable authors of the preceding century were either no longer alive or had passed away.
Romance is characterised more by feeling than by reason. Beginning with the old “Romance,” which consisted of tales of adventures, chivalry, and romance, Romanticism was characterised by its lofty sense, the implausible, the exaggerated, and the unbelievable, which ran counter to a stern and logical outlook on life.
Ideas and Trends
The goal of romantic artists was to arouse powerful feelings in their audience. They frequently portrayed dramatic settings, complicated situations, and emotional experiences. A significant motif of Romantic art was nature. The strength and beauty of the natural environment captivated artists. Paintings of landscapes frequently emphasised the wild and untamed parts of nature, presenting sublime and inspirational images.
Romanticism honoured each person’s individuality and their distinctive life experiences. Artists frequently portrayed lone or heroic characters, stressing the importance of inner expression and self-expression. Fantasy and the paranormal drew the attention of romantic artists. They created works that included myth, folklore, and fantastical aspects as they explored dreamy and imaginative issues.
Romantic artists were influenced by chivalry, folklore, and the past Middle Ages. They also looked to far-off and exotic civilizations for inspiration, indicative of their love for the unknown. In reaction to political and societal shifts, romantic artists frequently conveyed pride in their country and sense of identity via their artwork. This was especially noticeable when national landscapes or historical events were shown.
Bright colours and expressive brushstrokes were standard in romantic art. Creating a visceral experience that went beyond simple representation was the primary goal. Prominent Romantic artists include J.M.W. Turner, Caspar David Friedrich, Eugene Delacroix, Francisco Goya, and William Blake. Every artist contributed to a rich and varied artistic movement that had a lasting influence on the history of art by uniquely interpreting the topics of Romanticism.
Prominent artists in Romanticism
German painter Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) is renowned for his reflective and allegorical landscape paintings. Many people consider Friedrich to be a pivotal figure in German Romantic painting. His paintings, which emphasise reflection and solitude, feature magnificent natural settings. Friedrich used a lot of symbolism in his paintings. Trees, mountains, and the sea were among the biological aspects he employed to communicate deeper philosophical and spiritual themes. Many of his creations have been seen as meditations on the state of humanity and the interaction between humans and the natural world.
Landscape painter J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) was an English romantic. Turner’s use of light, atmospheric effects, and brightness define his paintings. In particular, his later works exhibit a shift toward abstraction and foreshadow Impressionism. Turner, regarded as one of the best landscape painters in Western art history, was crucial to the change from the Romantic to the Impressionist movements.
French painter Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) is renowned for using colour, dynamic compositions, and exotic subjects. His masterwork, “Liberty Leading the People,” is a famous portrayal of the French July Revolution. He is regarded as one of the founders of the Romantic style and was heavily involved in the French Romantic movement.
Francisco Goya (1746–1828) is frequently linked to Romanticism and the Enlightenment of the late 18th century. Still, his later works, such as the “Black Paintings,” show a darker, more contemplative side that aligns with Romantic ideals. His career spanned several eras, from the Rococo to the Romantic, and his artwork demonstrated a keen interest in the social and political themes of the day. Goya is frequently seen as a link between the Old Masters and contemporary art and a forerunner of the Romantic movement.
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker who lived from 1757 to 1827. Many people believe that Blake’s works predate Romanticism. He explored topics of spirituality, mysticism, and imagination by fusing poetry with visual art distinctively and symbolically. French romantic painter Théodore Géricault (1791–1824) was born. The dramatic and intense pieces that Géricault created are his most well-known creations. “The Raft of the Medusa,” his masterwork, is a striking portrayal of a shipwreck and its survivors.
Courtesy: The Courtauld, London.
English landscape painter John Constable (1776–1837) captured the beauty of the English countryside in his paintings. His paintings are renowned for their meticulous portrayals of rural landscapes and their intense attention to lighting and atmosphere. French painter Anne-Louis Girodet (1767–1824) was linked to Romanticism and Neoclassicism; Girodet produced sensual and passionate paintings. His Romantic ideas are best illustrated by his picture “The Sleep of Endymion.”
Swiss painter and writer Henry Fuseli (1741–1825) was a member of the Romantic and Gothic movements. His art frequently addressed themes of the paranormal, nightmares, and fantasy. Though he is most known for his poetry, John Keats (1795–1821) made significant contributions to the Romantic literary movement with his sensual and romantic lyrics like “Ode to a Grecian Urn” and “Ode to a Nightingale.”
Romanticism Art Characteristics
The movement strongly emphasised emotion, individualism, nature, and the supernatural as a response to the logic and order of the Enlightenment. Romantic painters were drawn to the dramatic, the enigmatic, and the sublime. They also aimed to arouse powerful emotions in their audience, emphasising the expression of subjectivity, passion, and personal feelings.
Honouring the sublime—utter nature’s power and beauty—and using natural components symbolically to communicate more profound meanings. Celebrating nature as a source of inspiration and spirituality. Romantic artists frequently portrayed heroic or solitary people, exploring personal expression and the inner self, emphasising the individual’s unique experiences and feelings.
Exploration of the fanciful, the legendary, and the supernatural; interest in dreamy and imaginative subjects, typically borrowing from mythology and folklore; use of symbols to convey complicated concepts and emotions. Expression of national pride and identity in response to political and social changes; representation of historical events, frequently with a romanticised or idealised slant; interest in mediaeval themes and chivalry, showing nostalgia.
Dark Romanticism Art
Dark Romanticism was a 19th-century literary and artistic trend often referred to as Gothic or American Romanticism. It was distinguished by examining human nature’s more enigmatic and sinister facets, frequently focusing on macabre, paranormal, and psychological topics. Dark Romanticism finds expression in art through different mediums, including painting and illustration.
