Nineteenth Century Romanticism: Art in an Age of Individuals Eric Beckman, Anoka HS (MN) Adapted from: Sue Pojer, Horace Greeley HS (NY); Makalani Dearden, Greg Tatum (student), and Laurel Sakai (student), Seabury Hall (HI); McKay, Hill, and Buckler, A History of Western Society, 7 th Ed.

Romanticism describes a modern movement in the arts and literature characterized by individualism, emotion, and subjectivity. Caspar David Friedrich, Wandering Above the Sea of Fog, 1818.

Trajectory “Romantic” entered both English and French languages by the 17th Century: first meaning “unreal,” “marvelous,” or “extravagantly fanciful,” eventually evolved to mean “picturesque.” Began in the 1790s in England and Germany Gained momentum in France after Napoleon’s rule Peaked in the 1820s, but remained influential throughout the 19th Century Contemporaneous with realism in the second half of the 19th Century, later eclipsed by even more modern approaches.

Topics Elements of the Style Historical Context Implications

Elements of Romanticism Individualism Unrestrained emotion and freedom Fascination with nature Interest in the pastExoticism Rejection of materialism in favor of the emotional and the spiritual New forms.

The Romantic Hero Lord Byron –Tremendously popular among the European reading public –Youth imitated his haughtiness and rebelliousness –Fought in Greek revolt Society celebrated individual genius –Franz Liszt in music

Artist as Individual Wandering Above the Sea of Fog Caspar David Friedrich, 1818.

Caspar David Friedrich, Solitary Tree, Lonely, Serene Nature

The Dreamer Caspar David Friedrich, 1835.

Awesome, Frightening Nature Philip James de Loutherbourg, An Avalanche in the Alps, 1803.

Terrifying Nature Théodore Géricault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1819

The Raft of the Lotus Roots Ju Douqi, photo image of vegetable sculpture, 2008

Old and New The Tremaire a warship scrapped for timber John Mallard William Turner, The Fighting Termeraire, 1838

Romanticizing Country Life John Constable, The Hay Wain, 1821.

Romanticizing the middle ages in architecture and literature Steep roof lines Pointed windows and arches Stained glass Knights in shining armour Tower Bridge, London, 1892 Gothic Revival

Houses of Parliament A. W. Pugin and Sir Charles Barry ( )

The Non-European as an Exotic Other Eugene Delacroix, Women of Algiers in Their Apartment, 1834.

Exocitism: A Justification for Imperialism? Eugene Delacroix, The Fanatics of Tangiers,

Classicism and the Enlightenment French Revolution Industrial change Nationalism Individualistic society Mass, bourgeois culture Historical Context: Modern World of the 19 th Century

Reaction Against the Enlightenment and Classicism standards and rules reason Greco-Roman themes Classicism in music: Mozart and Haydn late Enlightenment prefigured romanticism’s emphasis on feeling, freedom, and the natural goodness of people –Rousseau Jacques Louis David, Brutus Returning Home after Having Sentenced His Sons for Plotting a Tarquinian Restoration and Conspiring against Roman Freedom; the Lictors Bring their Bodies to be Buried

The French Revolution Possibility of radical reconstructuring Nationalism Napoleon After Napoleon Germaine de Staehl’s On Germany encouraged French writers to take up romanticism; Victor Hugo and George Sand did. Jacques Louis David. Napoleon at the St. Bernard Pass

Comment on Industrialization John Mallard William Turner, Dudley, Dudley is in the heart of England's Black Country (coal district) and was the site of an early steam in Engline (1712).

Anti-Industrialism Idealization of preindustrial England John Constable had a lot of green paint, which he often used to depict his native Suffolk One of the “Six footers” John Constable, The White Horse, 1819.

Ambivalent Reaction to Industrialism John Mallard William Turner. Rain, Steam, and Speed––The Great Western Railway

Detail from Rain, Steam, and Speed The Great Western Railway locomotive: –fastest train in Europe at the time. –The most extensive rail system in the world at the time. Location has been identified as the bridge over Thames at Maidenhead. –designed by Brunel and built –two 130 foot flat elliptical arches. –Critics predicted an early collapse

Nationalism and Liberalism Eugene Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, 1830.

Liberty Leading the Vegetables Ju Douqi, photo image of vegetable sculpture, 2008

The Musket Bearer Delacroix himself

Romanticizing Nationalist Struggles Eugene Delacroix, Massacre at Chios, 1824.

National Resistance Francisco Goya, The Shooting of May 3, 1808, 1815

Cultural Nationalism Folk culture collected and fused with elite culture –Dvorak, Chopin, and Mussorgsky in music –Grimm Brothers

Implications Romanticism was the first truly modern art form, because it privileged the individual and subjectivity. Romanticism could, and did, reinforce many different political ideologies. –Nationalism –Liberalism –Conservatism

Subjective Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night, 1889.

Even More Subjective Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907.