5.2 — Romanticism
Romanticism (late 18th–mid 19th century) prized emotion, imagination, and individuality over strict reason. Artists explored the sublime power of nature, political upheaval, and the depths of the human psyche with bold color and dramatic compositions.
Key Ideas
- Emotion and Imagination: Feeling as a guide to truth; introspection and visionary subjects.
- The Sublime: Awe mixed with terror before vast nature, storms, mountains, or ruins.
- Freedom and Revolution: Art engaged with political change, heroism, and national identity.
- Exoticism and the Other: Interest in distant lands, cultures, and histories—often filtered through fantasy.
Definition: The Sublime
An aesthetic of overwhelming grandeur or terror that exceeds comprehension, provoking awe and intense feeling (formulated by Edmund Burke and embraced by Romantic artists).
France
- Théodore Géricault: “Raft of the Medusa” — contemporary tragedy rendered at heroic scale; raw bodies, political critique.
- Eugène Delacroix: “Liberty Leading the People,” “Death of Sardanapalus” — color, movement, and dramatic diagonals embody freedom and passion.
Britain
- J.M.W. Turner: Storms, fire, and light dissolving form; “The Slave Ship,” “Rain, Steam, and Speed.”
- John Constable: Luminous, affectionate views of the English countryside (“The Hay Wain”), painted en plein air studies.
- William Blake: Visionary prints and paintings merging poetry, prophecy, and idiosyncratic theology.
Théodore Géricault, “Raft of the Medusa” (1818–1819), oil on canvas
German-Speaking Regions
- Caspar David Friedrich: Meditative landscapes (“Wanderer above the Sea of Fog”) using Rückenfigur (figures seen from behind) to invite contemplation.
- Philipp Otto Runge: Mystical nature symbolism and color theory experiments.
Spain
- Francisco Goya: From court portraits to dark “Black Paintings”; “Third of May 1808” indicts war’s brutality; “Saturn Devouring His Son” probes psychological terror.
Italy and Beyond
- Francesco Hayez: “The Kiss” symbolizing Italian unification sentiment.
- Russian and Polish Romantics: Emphasized national history and folk themes.
Note: Color vs. Line
Romantics like Delacroix championed expressive color and painterly brushwork, sparring with Neoclassical emphasis on line and contour (Ingres).
Themes and Motifs
- Nature’s Power: Tempests, shipwrecks, mountains, and ruins dwarf humanity.
- Dreams and the Irrational: Nightmares, visions, and supernatural subjects.
- Individual Genius: The artist as visionary outsider; self-portraits of inner turmoil.
- Nationalism and Liberty: Allegories of revolution, folk heroes, and cultural revival.
Looking Ahead
Next, Chapter 5.3 turns to Realism, where artists confront modern life directly—labor, urban change, and the politics of representation.