Romanticism?Romanticism?

EWW. NO!EWW. NO!

Caspar David FriedrichWanderer Above the Sea of Fog

What artistic characteristics do you notice about this painting?

RomanticisRomanticismm

ContextContext The Visual ArtsThe Visual Arts MusicMusic LiteratureLiterature

Enlightenment/Neoclassical/Age of Reason Ideas

Reason Universal Truths Natural Order Academics Classical (Think Epics!)

Romantic Ideas• Love of Nature• Idealization of Rural Living• Faith in Common People• Emphasis on Freedom and Individualism • Spontaneity, intuition, feeling, imagination, wonder- Rejection of organized religion, tradition

FromFrom Enlightenment Enlightenment toto RomanticismRomanticism

French French Revolution Revolution

17501750 17891789 18001800 18501850

Industrial Revolution

Revolutions & Rise of Nationalism

FromFrom Enlightenment Enlightenment toto RomanticismRomanticism

Romanticism as a reaction to: The Age of Reason The Industrial Revolution The French Revolution

Descartes: “Cogito, ergo sum”

(I think, therefore I exist.)Rousseau: “Exister, pour nous, c’est sentir”

(For us, to exist is to feel.)

RomanticismRomanticism & The Industrial & The Industrial RevolutionRevolution

What might be some negative effects of TheIndustrial Revolution?

- French emotional reaction - Middle class dominance - Underclass causes adopted - Frustration of common people from lack of political and economic agency

Out of this revolution comes… Freedom Nationalism Individualism

RomanticismRomanticism & The French & The French RevolutionRevolution

Visual Arts: Visual Arts: ExamplesExamples

Neoclassical ArtDeath of Marat

Romantic ArtHow are these two pieces of art different?

What words best describe these paintings?

NeoclassicalNeoclassical

RomanticRomantic

What style is this?What style is this?

How does Nature appear in this painting?

Bottom Right Detail

JM TurnerThe Slave Ship

What does this painting say about individualismand the common man?

This painting depicts an 1808 shooting at Montana del Principe Pio. Can you tellGoya’s reaction to the event?What features indicate his reaction?

Breaking fromBreaking from Neoclassical Neoclassical ArtArt

"If you want to do art you"If you want to do art you

must first study the rules,must first study the rules,

second study the greatsecond study the great

masters, third forget themasters, third forget the

rules, because genius rules, because genius beginsbegins

where trite rules end.” where trite rules end.” - Sir Joshua - Sir Joshua Reynolds Reynolds

(1723-1792) (1723-1792)

What rules does Reynolds break in this painting?

Visual Arts: Summary

Earlier art (neoclassical Earlier art (neoclassical art) was rigid, severe, art) was rigid, severe, and unemotional.and unemotional.

Follows strict classical Follows strict classical rules from ancient rules from ancient Greece and Rome. Greece and Rome.

Romantic art was Romantic art was emotional, deeply-felt, emotional, deeply-felt, individualistic, and individualistic, and exotic. It has been exotic. It has been described as a reaction described as a reaction to earlier styles to earlier styles (neoclassical art).(neoclassical art).

• • Conveyed personal feeling ofConveyed personal feeling of artist.artist.• • Glorified the common man.Glorified the common man.• • Depicted the exotic (subjects).Depicted the exotic (subjects).• • Landscapes/Nature becameLandscapes/Nature became important. important.

Romantic Romantic LiteratureLiterature

The publication of The publication of Lyrical BalladsLyrical Ballads by by Wordsworth and Wordsworth and Coleridge in 1798 is Coleridge in 1798 is considered the considered the beginning of literary beginning of literary Romanticism.Romanticism.

Blake, Wordsworth, ColeridgeBlake, Wordsworth, Coleridge Byron, Shelley, KeatsByron, Shelley, Keats The Gothic Novel… The Gothic Novel…

FrankensteinFrankenstein

““[Romanticism] must have come on like [Romanticism] must have come on like punk rock to a public groaning under punk rock to a public groaning under the weight of over-cooked the weight of over-cooked Augustinisms.”Augustinisms.”

Augustinisms = classical, religious commentary from Augustine.

How can Romanticism be seen as a rebellion against The System,

The Man, The Accepted?

“They said, we'd be artistically free When we signed that bit of paper.”

-The Clash

Relationship with Nature“Are not the mountains, waves, and skies, a part Of me and my soul, as I of them?” - Byron

“[A mountain is] the type of amajestic intellect, . . . There I beheld theemblem of a giant mind that feeds uponinfinity.” - Wordsworth

What is the relationship between Romantic Artists and nature?

Romantic Romantic LiteratureLiterature

What is the sublime?What is the sublime?

Often associated with huge, overpowering Often associated with huge, overpowering natural phenomena like mountains, natural phenomena like mountains, waterfalls, turbulent seas, and waterfalls, turbulent seas, and thunderstorms, the “delightful terror” thunderstorms, the “delightful terror” inspired by sublime visions was supposed inspired by sublime visions was supposed both to remind viewers of their own both to remind viewers of their own insignificance in the face of nature and insignificance in the face of nature and divinity and to inspire them with a sense divinity and to inspire them with a sense of transcendence.of transcendence.

How did the sublime relate to the How did the sublime relate to the beautiful?beautiful?

Mere beauty was thought by the Mere beauty was thought by the Romantics to be inferior to the concept of Romantics to be inferior to the concept of the “sublime.” The British writer and the “sublime.” The British writer and statesman Edmund Burke, who was statesman Edmund Burke, who was interested in categorizing aesthetic interested in categorizing aesthetic responses, identified beauty with delicacy responses, identified beauty with delicacy and harmony, and he identified the and harmony, and he identified the sublime with vastness, obscurity, and a sublime with vastness, obscurity, and a capacity to inspire terror. capacity to inspire terror.

The Falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen, TurnerThe Falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen, Turner

Philippe Jacques De LoutherbourgPhilippe Jacques De Loutherbourg

Defining Defining RomanticismRomanticism Romanticism refers to a movement Romanticism refers to a movement

in art, literature, and music during in art, literature, and music during the 19the 19thth century. century.

Romanticism is broadly Romanticism is broadly characterized by:characterized by: ImaginationImagination EmotionEmotion InspirationInspiration IndividualityIndividuality

ImaginationImagination Imagination was Imagination was

emphasized over emphasized over “reason.”“reason.”

This was a backlash This was a backlash against the rationalism against the rationalism characterized by the characterized by the Neoclassical “Age of Neoclassical “Age of Reason.”Reason.”

Imagination was Imagination was considered necessary considered necessary for creating all art.for creating all art.

British writer Samuel British writer Samuel Taylor Coleridge Taylor Coleridge called it “intellectual called it “intellectual intuition.”intuition.”

EmotionEmotion Romantics placed value on feeling and Romantics placed value on feeling and

instincts over reason.instincts over reason. Emotions were important in Romantic Emotions were important in Romantic

art.art. British Romantic William Wordsworth British Romantic William Wordsworth

described poetry as “the spontaneous described poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.”overflow of powerful feelings.”

InspirationInspiration The Romantic artist, musician, or The Romantic artist, musician, or

writer, is an “inspired creator” writer, is an “inspired creator” rather than a “technical master.”rather than a “technical master.”

Romantic writers were “going with Romantic writers were “going with the flow,” or being spontaneous, the flow,” or being spontaneous, rather than “getting it precise” like rather than “getting it precise” like Milton, Pope, John Donne.Milton, Pope, John Donne.

IndividualityIndividuality Romantics celebrated the individual.Romantics celebrated the individual. Triumph of common man in French Triumph of common man in French

Revolution.Revolution. Women’s Rights and Abolitionism were Women’s Rights and Abolitionism were

taking root as major movements.taking root as major movements. Walt Whitman, an American Romantic Walt Whitman, an American Romantic

writer, wrote a lengthy poem entitled writer, wrote a lengthy poem entitled “Song of Myself”; it begins, “I celebrate “Song of Myself”; it begins, “I celebrate myself…”myself…”