Romanticism
Romanticism was characterized by its emphasis on emotion and individualism as well as glorification of all the past and nature, preferring the medieval rather than the classical. It was partly a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, the aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment, and the scientific rationalization of nature. It was embodied most strongly in the Visual arts, music, and literature, but had a major impact on historiography, education, and the Natural science, these works are characterized by a brighter use of color and expressive brushstroke and were meant to evoke emotion. Exotic subjects from foreign lands were also more prevalent in Romantic art. Eugene Delacroix, an artist known for his work in the Romanticism style, has a place in the Walters collection. The work shown below, called Collision of Moorish Horsemen, is a good example of several characteristics of this type of art.
ROMANTICISM ARTISTS
William Blake (1757 - 1827)
Carl Blechen (1798 - 1840)
John Constable (1776 - 1837)
Eugène Delacroix (1798 - 1863)
Caspar David Friedrich (1774 - 1840)
Henry Fuseli (1741 - 1825)
Thomas Gainsborough (1727 - 1788)
Théodore Géricault (1791 - 1824)
Thomas Girtin (1775 - 1802)
Francisco Goya (1746 - 1828)
Antoine-Jean Gros (1771 - 1835)
John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)
George Stubbs (1724 - 1806)
William Turner (1775 - 1851)
Characteristics of Romanticism and Its Meaning
Rationalism and Enlightenment some time ago predominated everything artistic and literary; However, they did not reflect the reality of this world, which is rather irrational, full of emotions and imperfections, and that is ultimately its essence; this is how the Characteristics of Romanticism appear.
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Characteristics of Romanticism
To begin to know the fundamental characteristics of Romanticism, it is important to address how this new artistic and philosophical movement originated that influenced society at that time and marked the beginning of a new form of artistic manifestation in all areas.
Romanticism appeared in eighteenth-century Europe, this was a new current that focused on a different aesthetic, a new philosophy and a new way of making and understanding art. It was already the time of the Enlightenment, a period in which reason and humanism prevailed, leaving aside emotions, feelings and dreams.
Therefore, as a response to this pragmatic world, romanticism appeared, a commitment to the subjective self and the exaltation of emotions and the dream world. With this, they returned to the past, to folklore and national traditions, in itself it was a way to re-discover the individuality of the country and its characteristics; this led to a flowering of nationalism and a return to the Greco-Latin world, and the Middle Ages. This new trend, in turn, marked different challenges and areas to be explored in each artistic discipline.
Characteristics of Romanticism in Painting
In the case of artistic expression in painting, it implied a real transformation in terms of how society would appreciate this type of art, which since previous times were almost only the property of the State and the Church, who in principle were its initial promoters, usually using it for their propaganda.
Likewise, the characteristics of Romanticism established through the linking of art with the application of consciousness and one's own creativity, new conditions for the execution and construction of art; and this is how the historian Ernst Gobrecht details it, in the following:
"The true conception and manner in which art could manifest personality could only be established when all its other purposes were exhausted in art."
This is how many Romantic artists and writers understood art as a means of self-manifestation and indeed a vocation. In this way, many decided to dispense with errands, being driven to sell their works so as not to "sell" themselves as artists. Then, along with the cult of the artist that presented itself as a provider of religious content, there was an increase in banned and financially bankrupt artists, because it was safer for the new audience to trust traditional art.
Literary Romanticism
It was a literary revolution that began in Europe at the end of the eighteenth century when some writers abandoned the rules of structure and style of the classical authors and began to talk about nature, about love afflictions in a personal tone full of melancholy as a context taken from sentimental relief. This new trend began in Germany, reached England and France, and spread to other countries.
In response to the aristocratic culture that still prevails, writers focused on the melancholy of the Middle Ages, the founding times of their countries, the appreciation of heroic and brave characters, and traditional customs; this revolution reached its peak in the nineteenth century. The theoretical foundations of Romanism in literature were created in Germany by Hegel, Schelling, and Fichte, philosophers of classical idealism (also known as philosophical romanticism).
Nationalism
The Romantics preach nationalism, encourage the exaltation of national nature, the return to the historical past, and the creation of the national hero. In European literature, national heroes are beautiful and brave medieval knights; in Brazil, it is the Indians, equally beautiful, brave and civilized.
Nature is also glorified in romanticism, seen as an amplification of the nation or a shelter from the revolting life of nineteenth-century cities; The exaltation of nature achieves the confines of the writer's continuation and his emotional moment.
Romanticism in Music
The great musical compositions of Romanticism developed throughout the musical period in the West, from the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century. This musical movement was linked to the literary and artistic movement of the same name that emerged in Europe in the mid-eighteenth century, mainly in Germany.
During this period, music became more expressive and emotive, becoming an entourage of contemporary literary, artistic, and philosophical themes. The size of the orchestration increased dramatically in Romanticism, as did the dynamic range and diversity of instruments used.
Public concerts have become a linchpin of middle-class urban society, unlike earlier historical eras when concerts were paid for and performed primarily for the aristocracy. Among the characteristics of Romanticism, we can cite a new abandonment of the natural, a fascination with the past (especially medieval legends), a new look at the mystical and the supernatural, a longing for the infinite, and a focus on the fantastic, the spiritual, and the ghostly.
Nationalism was also a motif among the musicians of Romanticism; The exhibition of intense feelings in compositions has been essential to most of the arts that have developed in this historical time.
Programmatic composition, musical ode, soulful melody, opera Bel Canto, and concert prelude are genres that emerged and were exalted during the Romantic era as alternative modes to classical sonatas and symphonies.
Values and Programmatic Aspects of the Romantic Movement
The various artists who immersed themselves in this new movement of Romanticism, usually represented their works using a series of values and aspects that are closely linked to the characteristics of Romanticism, the new form of artistic manifestation of that time, among them we have:
Imagination vs. Intelligence
As a response to the rejection of the true emblematic value of the imagination, for qualifying it as contradictory to what represented the soul of reason and morality that was derived during neoclassical art; The painters decided to give a new meaning to the imagination by increasing it through two modes: using it as a creative element and as knowledge.
Sublimity vs. Classical Beauty
During this period, artists rose up rejecting the classical prototype that represented beauty (order, balance and harmony), since it was commonly predictable and repetitive, so they decided to capture it with the idea of the sublime.
So the comparison between the two was very remarkable: while the classical prototype gives rise to delight and sympathy, the sublime, that is to say, the opposite, represents discontent, a transcendent emotion or agitation that results from the discrepancy between the imaginative grandeur of what is contemplated and what reason expects. The sublime moves, shakes and disturbs the observer in a captivating way; This takes him out of his comfort zone and forces him to explore other forms of beauty other than order, balance, and harmony.
Subjectivity vs. objectivity
Romanticism suggests that it is the artist's point of view that is presented in his works, that is, his subjectivity through his feeling, his judgment, his anxieties and ambitions. In this sense, it frees the artist from the submission implanted by the ambitions of a buyer or the public, in particular the redemption of commitment and commission; And this is how the term art as an individual manifestation is established.
Nationalism vs. Universality
There were two values that participated in both Romantic and Neoclassical art; however, they interacted in very different ways in both artistic manifestations; this is so much so that historians such as Eric Hobsbawm state that:
"The romantic, as well as the neoclassical, represents the two parts of a coin."
Among the differences between these manifestations in relation to nationalism are while in neoclassical art it defended the idea of the national state as a rational mandate and a means of civilizing development, romanticism valued the notion of national identity. In this sense, the state brings together the sons of the nation, of fraternity.
Formal and Stylistic Aspects of Romanticism
Through the characteristics of romanticism, various elements and styles were presented, which the artist could explore to capture in his consequent works, these are:
Diversity of styles
Undoubtedly, the freedom of expression that Romanticism brought to artists was overwhelming for these times, since one of the most important characteristics of Romanticism is the variety of styles, dissipating all academic norms and denoting the search for intrinsic manifestation. Therefore, romanticism is in whatever branch it is (art or literature), it can be considered as a generalized style.
So much so, that romanticism cannot be qualified in one time, but as a current on the limit of others (neoclassicism, realism, symbolism, pre-Raphaelitism). However, it can be certified that Romanticism generated an evidently revealing predominance in the artistic exhibition of the nineteenth century, announcing what would become the concept of writing and modern art.
Release of rules
In Romanticism both artists and writers redeemed themselves from the inflexibility of academic regulations, however, this did not mean the abandonment of these altogether; Although in some cases, it seems that the regulations are completely vanishing. There are also others who submit to their own subjective manifestation, being used as an expressive need that arises. In all contexts, the artist voluntarily frees himself from academic inflexibility in search of his own style that identifies him.
Romantic irony
This was one of the characteristics of Romanticism most explored and investigated in these Romantic times, primarily in the literary. It is a kind of posture of the mind towards the ways in which reality is visualized, which deliberates the ends of understanding from judgment. Irony thus opens up innumerable opportunities in artistic work.
Avoidance of clarity and definition
Romantic artists are interested in emotional states, especially those that reveal a certain embarrassment. If painting is a metaphor for the personal world, which is knowingly so confusing, the painter is interested in the transmission of the psychological atmosphere, and for this he uses the lack of clarity and definition. The same goes for the literature and music of the Romantic movement.
Influence of Baroque art, especially on French Romanticism
In the case of France, Romanticism again turned to the masters of the Baroque, whom the Enlightenment had condemned as confused, extravagant, and ornate. The Baroque was reinterpreted from a romantic point of view, although it was directed towards new themes of modern incentive; The great variegated scenes reappeared, seeming chaotic and exuberant.
Expressive purposes dominate over finishes or formal precision
Whereas neoclassicism made a real effort to conceal the procedures that made the viewer forget the artist as an intermediary between him and the idea, the romantics remember his presence by leaving the procedure in plain sight, that is, consciously allowing imperfection, asymmetry, inaccuracy or unfinished form, whether painting, music or literature.
Dynamism
Romantic works renounce the singularity of neoclassical works and opt for applied works full of resistance.
Themes of Romanticism
The themes used in Romanticism can be devoted to the different thematic manifestations (literature, painting and music), and among the most recurrent and popular, we can find the following:
Moods and Feelings
The most common representational themes in Romantic painting derive from the expression of the subjective world of the artists. Themes such as those related to these emotions of melancholy, loneliness, restlessness, helplessness, love, dementia, desire, panic or terror were the most common, in fact, it can be said that these themes were transversal in all the themes developed in romanticism, a description of them:
Love
As the central theme of his compositions, the romantic author does not see love as a happy moment, but as a moment of suffering. Love as something impossible that usually ends in disgrace, a love that manages to move the reader through its extreme sensitivity.
Death
Death was in itself one of the primary concerns of Romantic artists, and it was approached from many angles. There was also a particular fondness for the subject of suicide during the Romantic period, which in turn was encouraged by the influence of Goethe's novel The Misfortunes of Young Werther.
The Story
Romantic artists attached to libertarian and nationalist political values frequently described the themes of history that subscribed to these values. This element had a specific adherence in American romanticism, totally alien to the stimulus of the Greco-Latin past.
In Europe as well as in America, Romantic art depicts historical passages from the Middle Ages and other periods, as well as in modern times, which in a way is a requirement of the origin of the nation and of emancipation. The French Revolution, therefore, was one of the favorite themes in the argument of French art.
Romanticism also represents the figure of the hero, but compared to the neoclassical manifestation that personalizes him as a temperate and self-controlled being full of moral virtues, romanticism distinguishes him as excessive, full of passion and tragic.
The Landscape
Romanticism returns to the landscape in two ways: first, to bridge the distance between man and nature that results from socio-economic changes; the second as a metaphor for the subject's inner world. This, again, is a disdain for neoclassical rationalism, which in its totality opted for internal and tempered facts to draw the viewer's attention to the message.
The Mythical and Legendary Literary Universe
The Romantics set out in search of new content in the literature of all times, ignoring Greco-Latin references. Most of them turn to that literature that supplies fantastic elements, wonderful specimens, beasts, alternative mythological elements, among others.
Popular culture
In addition, there was a growing interest in the representation of popular culture, which was believed to be the repository of national identification; The view of popular culture would not necessarily be bucolic. It could also be linked to the magical-religious universe and to a certain justification of the "chaos" that so disturbed the enlightened.
Nostalgia for Faith and Spirituality
Neoclassicists and romantics believed that all past times were better, but both in different ways. The neoclassicists were opposed to the role of tradition, which they blamed for fanaticism, and so they believed they saw a rationalist model in the Greco-Latin past.
Meanwhile, the Romantics opposed the excess of Enlightenment rationalism and longed for medieval and "primitive" times. They lamented the disappearance of spirituality and the sense of magic in life; At the same time, they valued the popular past as the primary source of national being. This nostalgic gaze was also like the acceptance of a small death that pictorial romanticism laments again and again in its paintings.
The American Native
Another of the great themes of the lineage of the past, such as melancholy, is the American aboriginal world, which they interpreted as a symbol of the unity between human beings and nature. Of course, it was an idealization inspired by Jean-Jacques Rousseau's concept of the noble savage.
Exotic Matters
It was with the Romantics that interest in so-called "exotic cultures" began to spread, with a unique sense of color and composition. One of the most widespread currents is Orientalism, which is reflected not only in the study of aesthetic criteria but also in the subjects represented.
Characters of Romanticism
There were many figures who contributed to Romanticism, in which both men and women participated without distinction. Below we show you the names of some of them according to the type of artistic expression in which they developed and some of their most representative works, these are:
Writers
Literature was very representative in Romanticism, through innumerable literary works produced by the following writers:
Mary Shelley with her famous literary work Frankenstein (1829)
Edgar Allan Poe and his book The Tell-Tale Heart (1843)
Victor Hugo with his literary work Les Misérables (1962)
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and the development in his writing of The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774)
Alexandre Dumas with his renowned work The Count of Monte Cristo (1844)
José de Espronceda and his novel The Student of Salamanca (1840)
Lord Byron with his outstanding work The Pilgrimages of Childe Harold.
Painters
The most renowned artists who applied the characteristics of Romanticism and everything involved in it in their works are the following:
Francisco Goya and his work The Dreams of Reason Produce Monsters (1799)
William Turner with his painting Rain, Steam and Speed (1844).
Leonardo Alenza with his artistic manifestation in The Romantics or Suicide (1837)
Théodore Gericault Romanticism in his work The Raft of the Medusa (1819)
Eugène Delacroix and his artistic expression in Liberty Leading the People (1830)
Caspar David Friedrich with the elaboration of his painting The Walker on the Sea of Clouds (1818)
Composers
There were many musicians and composers who participated in this movement called romanticism, among them are:
Ludwig van Beethoven with his Symphony No. 9 (1824)
Franz Schubert and his composition Ellens drifter Gesang or Ave Maria (1825)
Robert Schumann in his development of Dichter Liebe (Love and Life of a Poet) (1840).
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