Romanticism
Romanticism emerged out of the destruction and horrors of the French Revolution of 1789. In Romantic art, nature was illustrated as an uncontrollable power based on its unpredictability and potential for cataclysmic extremes. Nature offered an alternative to the ordered world of Enlightenment thought. In French and British paintings of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the recurrence of images of shipwrecks and other representations of man's struggle against the awesome power of nature provide examples of this sensibility. There often was a lack of a heroic icon or symbol within Romantic paintings as well.
La liberté guidant le peuple (Liberty Lading the People) - Eugène Delacroix
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The most famous of artworks emerging from the French Revolution, this romantic view on the revolution provides a sense of liberty and justification of the massive conflict. The painting triggers an extreme on emotion and drama, as well as a fine sense of pride within the French people.
Citation: "Art of the Romantic Era." Art of the Romantic Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. http://facstaff.uww.edu/carlberj/romart.htm>.
Stormy Coast Scene after a Shipwreck - Horace Vernet
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This painting illustrates a dark and very dramatic scene after a shipwreck, providing a sense of terror of the ocean and nature. Survivors are depicted down below, washed up on an unknown and hostile land.
Citation: "Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Horace Vernet: Stormy Coast Scene after a Shipwreck (2003.42.56). N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. .
The Hay-Wain - John Constable
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/8/7/13874154/3510139_orig.jpg)
While providing a view of a normal home in the country, this painting - rather than a frightening view on nature - romanticizes and beautifies the world as God's creation , suggesting that humans live in His world rather than Him living among humans.
Citation: "Art of the Romantic Era." Art of the Romantic Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. http://facstaff.uww.edu/carlberj/romart.htm>.
Rain, Steam, and Speed - J.M.W. Turner
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/8/7/13874154/8190412_orig.jpg)
This blurred outlook on the industrial revolution is a great example of a Romantic-styled creation, portraying a landscape that has been hazed by the pollution of industrialization. The locomotive featured consists of the darkest part of the painting, reflecting controversy among opinions toward industrialization.
Citation: "Art of the Romantic Era." Art of the Romantic Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. http://facstaff.uww.edu/carlberj/romart.htm>.
Dido Building Carthage - J.M.W. Turner
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/8/7/13874154/1355931_orig.jpg)
Turner focuses on the pre-Roman Carthaginian capital rather than the Roman Empire. He provides an emphasis on the lush nature within the city on the right-half of the painting, while illustrating the river that flows through the city in a luminous way.
Citation: "Art of the Romantic Era." Art of the Romantic Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. http://facstaff.uww.edu/carlberj/romart.htm>.
The Grand Canal, Venice - J.M.W. Turner
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/8/7/13874154/882446_orig.jpg)
Providing another landscape-styled painting, Turner recreates a perception of Venice upon traveling to the Italian city. The romantic view on merchant and fishing boats occupied in the ports in the place of warships provides a sense of peace and happiness within the viewer.
Citation: "Art of the Romantic Era." Art of the Romantic Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. http://facstaff.uww.edu/carlberj/romart.htm>.
The Leaping Horse - John Constable
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/8/7/13874154/4153868.jpg?637)
Literally a leaping horse, this painting provides a romanticized view on a road in the country side.There was a large emphasis on water in the Romantic era, as seen here traveling alongside the road.
Citation: "Art of the Romantic Era." Art of the Romantic Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. http://facstaff.uww.edu/carlberj/romart.htm>.
Sunset - Eugène Delacroix
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/8/7/13874154/2112728_orig.jpg)
Delacroix displays sensitivity to the expressive potential of atmospheric effects, romanticizing the nature of the sky. Romantic painters often chose to illustrate either the sky, water, or trees (or all three) in their creations.
Citation: "Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Eugène Delacroix: Sunset (L.2000.64). N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. .
Dante and Virgil in Hell - Eugène Delacroix
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/8/7/13874154/8768122_orig.jpg)
While this work also possesses qualities that resemble the Neoclassical era, there is a romanticized view on Hell. Delacroix provides a dramatic scene of emotion, characterizing the faces of each suffering character.
Citation: "Art of the Romantic Era." Art of the Romantic Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. http://facstaff.uww.edu/carlberj/romart.htm>.
Eldena Ruin - Casper David Friedrich
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/8/7/13874154/481388_orig.jpg)
Friedrich captivates the idea that nature overcomes man in this painting of the ruins of a building. It was a popular romanticized view that humanity is a bug underneath Nature's shoe, and time will never change that ideal.
Citation: "Art of the Romantic Era." Art of the Romantic Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. http://facstaff.uww.edu/carlberj/romart.htm>.
Citations:
"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Romanticism. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/roma/hd_roma.htm>.
"Romantic Art Style (c.1770-1920)." Romanticism: Definition, Characteristics, History. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/romanticism.htm>.
"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Romanticism. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/roma/hd_roma.htm>.
"Romantic Art Style (c.1770-1920)." Romanticism: Definition, Characteristics, History. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/romanticism.htm>.