Romanticism (European Art History)

This lecture will be a comprehensive overview of the historic art movement of Romanticism in the 17th Century. The influences and pioneers of this movement have been discussed so students can understand the core concepts of Romanticism,

1. Romanticism 1750-1850

2. Romance vs Romanticisim There is a distinction between what is Romance and what is Romanticism Romance is a feeling of love and affection, usually shown between two people in love. Romanticisim is a movement that was started by philosophers, artists and thinkers . It is a new way of feeling and analyzing the world.

3. The influence of Romanticism started in Europe and spread around the world by 1900’s. It changed the way people thought about everything in their lives – money, children, marriage, sex, love, death and everything in between. It was a new age of thinking and reflecting on how we live and was triggered by political events in European history. It was a reaction to the changes and emergence of the modern world - Urbanization , Industrialization , Secularization and Consumerism .

4. Key Events That Established Romanticism 1762 – Jean Jacque Rousseau, a Swiss philosopher published a book. It was concerned with the rearing of children .

5. a view of children as very different to adults – as innocent, vulnerable, slow to mature – and entitled to freedom and happiness. In other words, children are naturally good an appreciation that individuals vary within stages – and that education must as a result be individualized. ‘Every mind has its own form’ the power of the environment in determining the success of educational encounters. It was crucial – as Dewey also recognized – that educators attend to the environment. The more they were able to control it – the more effective would be the education .

6. Childlike and Curious Rousseua argued that out of all the human beings, the child was the original rebel. Children are by nature curious and uncaring about what is happening around them. This makes them brave and open-minded. Romanticism embodies these qualities – as it is a world with growing logic, rationality and thought.

7. 1770 – London 17 y ear old poet Thomas Chatterton commits suicide

8. There is little to no appreciation for Chatterton’s works. His family pressurizes him to become a lawyer. The young poet was far wiser than his years His struggle led him to take some arsenic and end his life. Thomas Chatterton’s death became a major event that rallied artists and thinkers into developing a cult The tortured artist, shunted by society is born in the wake of Romanticism . Many notable people soon become part of this lineup – Byron, Keats, Van Gogh and then modern artists like Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain.

9. 1774 – Goethe publishes the first Romantic novel The Sorrows of Young Werther

10. The story follows the love affair between two people. The Hero Werther is a young poet and Heroine is Charlotte Werther falls in love with Charlotte but she is already married He still remains in pursuit of her and conveys his passion for her Werther is expected to make his career and establish his status But he can only think about his love and what he needs to do to get the woman he wants The passionate and tortured young man is a reflection of Thomas Chatterton . The young poet who kills himself. The character is repeated many time in Romantic literature and is known as the “ Tragic Hero ”

11. Poets and writers are creating stories that are focused around the natural world. The reaction of industrialization and consumerism drives them to imagine and reemphasis a world of nature and beauty. Famous romantic poets who wrote about the opposite of the modern world – William Wordsworth John Keats Percey B S helley

12. I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills , When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils ; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze . Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way , They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. William Wordsworth – I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

13. Caspar-David Friedrich 1774-1840

14. Moonlight By the Sea Caspar-David Friedrich

15. Ruins of Eldena Among Giant Mountains Caspar-David Friedrich

16. Morning Fog Caspar-David Friedrich

17. Sea Fog on the Beach Caspar-David Friedrich

18. Bohemian Landscape Caspar-David Friedrich

19. Wreckage on Sea Ice Caspar-David Friedrich

20. Chalk Cliffs of Rugen Caspar-David Friedrich

21. The Monk by the Sea Caspar-David Friedrich

22. The Cross Beside the Baltic Caspar-David Friedrich

23. Two Men Contemplating Caspar-David Friedrich

24. The Woman b y the Window Caspar-David Friedrich

25. The Dreamer on the Ruins of A Monastery Caspar-David Friedrich

26. Wanderer By The Sea Caspar-David Friedrich

27. Appreciation of the Sublime One of the key features of Romanticism is the emphasis on serenity. The contrast of man’s tiny being against the vastness of nature. The hyper-focus on nature however is also shown as SUBLIME. CALM, PEACEFUL, GENTLE AND STILL

28. The same way that the church made paintings to reassure people of the existence of god - Romantics reassured humanity of the existence of Nature as the calming force in life. Philosophers, artists and writers greatly focused on ridding themselves of the effects of the machines. Their solution – hyper-advertising the natural .

29. Art schools promoting romantic school of thought began training painters and artists Their inherent feature was reimagining the life that was devoid of evil inventions Nature was the biggest savior to the decay of the human conditio n Thomas Cole – A merican painter established the Hudson River Art School in 1825 . His style of painting vast landscapes became a way of story telling – how human beings lost themselves within the grandeur of the universe.

30. Frederic Edwin Church 1859

31. Asher Durand 1849

32. Thomas Cole 1830

33. Thomas Cole 1843

34. Thomas Cole Expulsion Moon and Firelight 1829

35. Flaneur by Charles Baudelaire 1863

36. The irrational, untrained, unadulterated and the influx of experiences Francisco Goya (1746-1828) was a historic Spanish Painter who adopted the Romantic sensibility The need to feel and feel deeply was one followed by all romantics. Goya has a strange way of showing it. He was a gifted printmaker and in his life he created more than 300 prints and paintings depicting his inner process

37. Three Periods of Goya’s Career The Court Paintings The Dark Paintings The Destruction of War

38. Court Paintings The court paintings depicted the lavish lifestyle of the Spanish government The lords and ladies of the Spanish monarchy officially paid Goya to paint them and portray their life These paintings have a sense of light, play, leisure and sensitivity

39. The Rape of Europa Goya

40. The Family of Carlos VI Goya

41. The Naked Maja Francisco Goya

42. The Clothed Maja Goya

43. The Duchess of Alba Goya

44. The Destruction of War and Los Capricos Goya was an imaginative man who infused his thoughts and beliefs into his work Most of his drawings and paintings created in this period are political, driven by social change and or the strength of Spanish folklore 1799-onwards

45. Revolutionary and Revolting Francisco Goya went through two very significant events in his life – a life threatening illness and a war Goya fell really sick twice for long periods of time that left him deaf in both ears He witnessed the Spanish Inquisition , the taking of Spain during the Peninsula War led by Napoleon Bonaparte The images Goya produced during this time reflected a deep disturbance in his state of mind What he made later came to be known as some of the earliest revolutionary work of arts ever made that inspired artists like Picasso and Manet

46. The Children and the Boogeyman Goya

47. “As far back as his grandfather”

48. “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters”

49. “All will fall”

50. “Against the common good”

51. Sad forebodings of what is to come

52. “Cant anyone untie us?”

53. “And it cant be changed”

54. “Be quick they are waking up”

55. Correction

56. Disasters of War

57. The Pare

58. Witches ready to fly

59. The Dark Paintings Goya lost his sanity due to two back to back illnesses that left him deaf as well Due to this advancement there was a brief moment from approx 1820-1830 in which he created 12 works on the wall of his house They were disturbing images of war, crime, revolution, mystery, gore and extreme violence. It is unclear what made him make those images but the Spanish war and his illness are two causes

60. The Second of May - 1808

61. The Third of May -1808

62. The Dog

63. The Great He-Goat

64. The Witches Sabbath

65. Saturn Devouring His Son 1823

66. The Artist Becomes The Hero The artist is no longer just the maker. Increased sense of individuality. The artist is making what is inspiring them, shift in subject matter The art itself is focused on a variety of moods and temperaments Boldness and unique expression is becoming more meainstream

67. The range of images were changing rapidly. You will notice a constant paradox. Two unlikely things mixing with each other Each artist exploring the internal sublime. The images have a sense of fantasy yet have jarring emotions Romantic thought emphasizes the combination of emotions and self. The heart was the source of all knowledge, what was felt was the epitome of truth and reason Blindly following the world as it was seen was criticized

68. “ Men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast” William Blake – Marriage of Heaven and Hell

69. William Blake Front piece to the Song of Los

70. William Blake The Great Red Dragon

71. Dante’s Lover’s Whirlwind William Blake

72. God Blessing the 7 th Day William Blake

73. Newton William Blak e

74. Europe Supported By America ad Africa William Blake

75. Front Cover of “ Narrative of Five Years ” William Blake

76. Politics of Europe will continue to impact the work of many artists. Some chose to relieve their pain through embracing nature as their solace Some decided to explode on the canvas and relay what they felt. The agony of war and the violence resulted in a freely expressive narrative of the horrors of war Depiction of class differences, racial injustice, slavery, the exploitation of the poor by the rich, all became important factors of representation Socialist ideas began to resurface

77. Dante and Virgil at the River of Styx Eugene Delacroix

78. Hamlet and Horatio in the Cemetery Eugene Delacroix

79. Susanna and the Elders Eugene Delacroix

80. The S hipwreck of Don Juan Eugene Delacroix

81. The Massacre at Chios Eugene Delacroix

82. Detail of Massacre of Chios

83. Orphan Girl at Cemetery Eugene Delacroix

84. Death of Sardanapalus Eugene Delacroix

85. Liberty Leading the People Eugene Delacroix

86. Artists were beginning to see the beauty in individual thought. Imagination was the center of all narratives The focus on titles and stories of paintings became important because artists were making new and bold images Romantics essentially understood that the key to utilizing art as a tool, their personal agendas, opinions and politics HAD to be represented

87. Three Lovers Theodore Gericault

88. The Tempest Theodore Gericault

89. Shipwreck on The Beach (The Tempest) Theodore Gericault

90. Race of the Rider less Horses Theodore Gericault

91. Portrait of a Kleptomaniac Theodore Gericault

92. Portrait of A Child Snatcher Theodore Gericault

93. Insane Woman Theodore Gericault

94. Not since the Renaissance has art illustrated so beautifully the concerns of the scientific domain; in Géricault’s case teaching those early psychiatrists, we might be tempted to think, to look on their patients with a more human gaze.” - Ben Pollit

95. The Horseman Theodore Gericault There is that great proverb — that until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter” Chinua Achebe Nigerian Novelist

96. Head of A Shipwrecked Man Study for Raft of Medusa Theodore Gericault

97. TW: TRIGGER WARNING

98. Head of A Drowned Man Theodore Gericault

99. Head of A Guillotined Man Theodore Gericault

100. The Severed Heads Theodore Gericault

101. Anatomical pieces Theodore Gericault

102. The Raft of Medusa Theodore Gericault

103. Romanticism As A Movement Out of all the art periods that passed in Europe, Romanticism buried its roots very deep in global culture. You can see the effects and impact of the movement in art today all around the world As the politics of the world become more entangled than ever, there is a rush to express, revolt, protest and speak out Romantics at their deepest of hearts were rebels – and that sensibility was transferred through a generation of artists to us

104. Be it this…

105. Or this…

106. Or this…

107. Or this…

108. To this..

109. To this..

110. To this…

111. Artists will continue to take inspiration from the spirit of Romanticism even years later

112. Trump Effigy in a Guillotine Outside the Whitehouse 2020

113. References