1. The Spirit of the Age (1790-1850)
ROMANTICISM:
The Spirit of the Age ( )
During 18th C a new artistic movement evolved.
Classicism was a set of artistic rules that were supported by rationality of Enlightenment
Romanticism = more spontaneous movement, revolt against Enlightenment & Classicism
Started in Germany; characterized by unrestrained emotion & spontaneity
“Sturm & Drang” (storm & stress) group in 11770s & 1780s Germany
Tended to rebel against expected norms of society
Grew their hair long, grew beards, wore outrageous clothes to show their individualism
Rejected materialism; enchanted by nature
Saw modern industry as ugly & the work of Satan
Fascinated by colors & diversity; turned towards writing history
History as the art of change over time; as key to a dynamic nation & understanding the national destiny
Belief in emotional exuberance
Enchanted by nature

2. A Growing Distrust of Reason
Early 19c
Enlightenment
Romanticism
Society is good, curbing violent impulses!
Civilization corrupts!
The essence of human experience is subjective and emotional.
Human knowledge is a puny thing compared to other great historical forces.
“Individual rights” are dangerous efforts at selfishness  the community is more important.

3. The Romantic Movement Began in 1790s Peaked in 1820s
Mostly Northern Europe-- Britain & Germany
Lord Byron -
“The Romantic hero”
A reaction against classicism.
The “Romantic Hero:”
Greatest example was Lord Byron
Tremendously popular among the European reading public.
Youth imitated his haughtiness and rebelliousness.

4. Wandering Above the Sea of Fog Caspar David Friedrich, 1818
Emotions!
Passion!
Irrationality!
Wandering Above the Sea of Fog Caspar David Friedrich, 1818
Idea of individual set apart from society & struggling against great odds a recurring theme

5. 1. Power & Fury of Nature 3. Power & Fury of Nature
Glorification of Nature:
Peaceful, restorative qualities [an escape from industrialization and the dehumanization it creates].
Awesome, powerful, horrifying aspects of nature.
Indifferent to the fate of humans.
Overwhelming power of nature.
An Avalanche in the Alps Philip James de Loutherbourg, 1803

6. The Deluge Francis Danby, 1840
Emphasis emotion, sentiment, & the importance of inner feelings.
First significant romantic work : Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The Sorrows of the Young Werther

7. Tree of Crows Caspar David Friedrich, 1822

8. The Wreck of the Hope (aka The Sea of Ice) Caspar David Friedrich, 1821

9. 2. Science can be dangerous. The new technology is dehumanizing
Rain, Steam, and Speed Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1844

10. From 1994 Film Frankenstein https://www. youtube. com/watch

11. 3. Romanticizing Country Life
Flatford Mill – John Constable, 1817

12. 6. Romanticizing Country Life
Flatford Mill – John Constable, 1817

13. The Hay Wain - John Constable, 1821

14. Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows John Constable, 1831

15.  “There is a pleasure in the pathless woods; There is a rapture on the lonely shore; There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roars: I love not man the less, but Nature more…”
George Gordon aka Lord Byron
“To see a world in a grain of sand And heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour.”
William Blake

16. 8. The Exotic the Occult & the Macabre
The Supernatural:
Ghosts, fairies, witches, demons.
The shadows of the mind—dreams & madness.
The romantics rejected materialism in pursuit of spiritual self-awareness.
They yearned for the unknown and the unknowable.
Cloister Cemetery in the Snow Caspar David Friedrich,

17. 4. The Exotic, the Occult & the Macabre
Nightmare (The Incubus) Henry Fuseli, 1781

18. Abbey in an Oak Forest Caspar David Friedrich, 1809-1810

19. The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun William Blake, 1808-1810

20. 5. Nationalism
Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi Eugène Delacroix, 1827
9. Nationalism

21. Liberty Leading the People Eugène Delacroix, 1830

22. 6. Interest in Exotic Lands
Exoticism:
The sexy “other.”
A sense of escape from reality.
A psychological/moral justification of imperialism?
Massacre of Chios - Eugène Delacroix, 1824

23. Women of Algiers in Their Apartment Eugène Delacroix, 1834

24. THE isles of Greece! the isles of Greece
  Where burning Sappho loved and sung,
Where grew the arts of war and peace,
  Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung!
Eternal summer gilds them yet,
         5
But all, except their sun, is set.

25. What do Romanticism and Disneyland have in common?
The Romantic periods ends around 1850….but some people…such as the unfortunate King Ludwig of Bavaria…are “hopeless Romantics”

26. Realism Cultural works should depict life exactly as it is.
Observed and recorded world around them to expose sordid (wretched) realities of life.
Pursued “typical” and commonplace life. Focused on urban working classes and social problems: labor strikes, violence, alcoholism
“art from below” – a focus on the people at the bottom of the social structure.

27. Daumier: Third Class Carriage

28. Daumier

29. Millet: The Gleaners

30. Millet: The Sower

31. Degas: L’Absinthe