Chapter 4 section 4Romanticism and Realism in the
Western WorldStandard 10.3 #7
Describe the emergence of Romanticism in art and literature, social criticism and the move away from
classical Europe
From World Book © 2001 World Book, Inc., 233 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60601. All rights reserved. Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy (Art Resource)
From World Book © 2001 World Book, Inc., 233 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60601. All rights reserved. Fresco (1510-1511); The Vatican, Rome (SCALA)
Romanticism• New intellectual movement that
emerges in the late 1700’s
• Based on feelings, emotion and imagination
• Belief that inner feelings were only understood by the person feeling them
• Valued uniqueness of each person
• love of nature and the past
Social Impact• People had a inner drive to know
themselves = a rebellion against the norm
• Grew long hair, beards, wore outrageous clothes to express uniqueness
• Interest in the past led to Neo Gothic(built in the style of the middle ages) style of building
From World Book © 2001 World Book, Inc., 233 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60601. All rights reserved. © Loyola University Chicago: R. V. Schoder, SJ, photographer
From World Book © 2001 World Book, Inc., 233 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60601. All rights reserved. © Loyola University Chicago: R. V. Schoder, SJ, photographer
Romanticism Literature
• Reflected love of the past
• Showed a attraction to the exotic and unfamiliar character = Gothic Literature like Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein and Edgar Allen Poe’s short horror stories
• Writers focused on misunderstood characters who were rejected by society but believed in their own self worth
Romanticism Literature Cont.
• Poetry was looked at as an expression of the soul
• Many writers believed that industrialization would cause people to become alienated from their feelings and nature
Romanticism Music• the composer was able to make people feel
emotions from his music
• Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the greatest romantic composers
• music makes the listener feel horror, pain, fear and terror
Realist
• Realist rejected romanticism and its ideas
• Believed that the world should be viewed realistically
Realist Literature
• Wanted to write about ordinary “normal” people from actual real life situations
• Tried to avoid using emotional language
• Wrote novels rather then poetry
ex: Charles Dickens- focused on stories about the lower & middle classes in Britain during the Industrial Age like Oliver Twist and Christmas Carol
Realist Art
“I have never seen either an angel or goddesses, so I am not interested in painting
them” Courbet
• Sought to show everyday life of ordinary people
• Gustave Courbet- French realist painter who painted scenes from everyday life
From World Book © 2001 World Book, Inc., 233 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60601. All rights reserved. Formerly in the Gemaldegalerie, Dresden, Germany; destroyed in 1945 (Art Resource)