Romanticism in Art: The Power of Passion

Dr. Roxanne Farrar

 

I.            Introduction: Key Characteristics of Romanticism in Art:

            VALUES:                   Intuition, Emotion, Imagination

            INSPIRATION:            Medieval & Baroque Eras, Middle & Far East

            TONE:                         Subjective, Spontaneous, Nonconformist, Highly Emotional

            COLOR:                     Unrestrained, Deep, Rich Shades

            SUBJECTS:                Legends, Erotica, Nature, Violence, “the Sublime”

                                                Heroic Struggles, Sublime Landscapes, Wild Animals

            TECHNIQUE:                       Painterly Brushstrokes, Strong Light & Shade Contrasts

            COMPOSITION:            Use of the Diagonal

 

II.        French Romanticism:

            Theodore Gericault:            Mounted Officer of the Imperial Guard, 1812

            Raft of the Medusa, 1819

            Eugene Delacroix:            Dante & Virgil Crossing the Styx, 1822

            Death of Sardanapalus, 1827

                                                Paganini, 1832

                                                Horse Frightened By a Storm (n.d.)

                                                Tiger Hunt, 1854

 

III.            German Romanticism (Sturm und Drang):

            Caspar David Friedrich: The Wreck of the Hope (Polar Sea), 1824

 

IV.            English Romanticism:

            John Constable:            Weymouth Bay, 1817

                                                The Haywain, 1821

            J. M. W. Turner:            Snowstorm--Steamboat Off a Habor’s Mouth, 1842

 

V.            American Romanticism:

            Thomas Cole:                The Oxbow After a Thunderstorm, 1836

            Albert Bierstadt:            View of Donner Lake, California, 1872