ROMANTIC ART, LITERATURE ROMANTIC ART, LITERATURE AND MUSICAND MUSIC

A LATE 18TH CENTURY CHALLENGE TO RATIONALISM & REASON

ROMANTICISM DEFINEDROMANTICISM DEFINED

Romanticism was an artistic, musical, and literary movement that emerged at the end of the 18th century

It stressed emotion, feeling, intuition, nature, the occult, and imagination

Creates the artist as bohemian; intellectuals experimented with rebellious clothing, drugs, earrings, etc.

ROMANTIC ARTROMANTIC ART

KEY PLAYERS Caspar David

Friedrich J.M.W. Turner Theodore Gericault Eugene Delacroix

These artists attempted to express emotion directly and subjectively. They rejected classical restraint in favor of warmth and movement.

CASPAR DAVID FRIEDRICH CASPAR DAVID FRIEDRICH German Romantic, 1774-1840German Romantic, 1774-1840

Preoccupied with God & nature, Friedrich often intertwined nature and the divine

He advised peers to “Shut your physical eye and look first at your picture with your spiritual eye.”

His, Cloister Cemetery in Snow, on the right is an example of this synthesis.

CASPAR DAVID FRIEDRICHCASPAR DAVID FRIEDRICH

For Friedrich, nature was a manifestation of the divine

He often portrayed humans overwhelmed by their surroundings and longing for infinity

On the left is his famous, Chalk Cliffs of Rugen, an example of that longing for infinity

Joseph Malford William TurnerJoseph Malford William TurnerEnglish Romantic, 1775-1851English Romantic, 1775-1851

Like many Romantic artists, Turner painted dramatic landscapes

He loved ships at sea being tossed by nature’s force

At left a ship is thrown in his Snowstorm

FOR MORE INFO...

J.M.W. TURNERJ.M.W. TURNER

A prolific artist, Turner skillfully use light and color to depict the power of the locomotive

Early in his career he accurately depicted such scenes

As he developed he used general fields of color to convey power

THEODORE GERICAULTTHEODORE GERICAULTFrench Romantic, 1791-1824French Romantic, 1791-1824 Gericault greatly

influenced the work of Delacroix

Considered one of the first to “load his shadows” with emotion & power

His dramatic, Raft of Medusa, is considered a Romantic masterpiece

EUGENE DELACROIXEUGENE DELACROIXFrench Romantic, 1798-1863French Romantic, 1798-1863

One of the most famous Romantic painters, Delacroix embraced nationalism (a favorite Romantic topic)

On the left, his Liberty Leading the People expressed French nationalism, during the Revolution of 1830FOR MORE INFO...

EUGENE DELACROIXEUGENE DELACROIX

Delacroix’s famous, Death of Sardanapalus, was

based on Lord Byron’s account of the last dramatic moments of the

Assyrian King At right, a guard slits the

throat of a harem woman Delacroix was renowned

for his use of theatrics and movement with a dramatic use of color

ROMANTIC LITERATUREROMANTIC LITERATURE

KEY PLAYERS Johann von Goethe Thomas Carlyle Walter Scott Edgar Allan Poe Mary Shelley Percy Shelley Lord Byron William Wordsworth

Romantic writers, like their artistic counterparts, used emotion, sentiment and inner feelings in their works

As one writer said, “It was my heart that counseled me to do it, and my heart cannot err.”

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHEJOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHEGerman Romantic Writer, 1749-1832German Romantic Writer, 1749-1832

Goethe’s famous novel, The Sorrows of the Young Werther, is a fine example of the new literary era

The title character sought freedom and fulfillment (individualism was a common theme)

Tragically, Werther commits suicide due to unrequited love

Sorrow & sadness were common themes in Romantic literature

THOMAS CARLYLETHOMAS CARLYLEEnglish Romantic Writer, 1795-1881English Romantic Writer, 1795-1881

Thomas Carlyle embodied sentimentality and individualism in his portrayal of the heroic figure who transformed society

He believed events were determined by deeds of heroes

Carlyle, in his epic book, Heroes and Hero Worship, wrote, “No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men”

SIR WALTER SCOTT SIR WALTER SCOTT English Romantic Writer, 1771-1832English Romantic Writer, 1771-1832

Scott’s novels became best sellers in Europe in the first half of the 19th century

His classic novel, Ivanhoe, depicted the clash between the Saxons and the Norman Knights in medieval England

A common milieu of Romantic authors was historical novels, often set in the Middle Ages

EDGAR ALLAN POEEDGAR ALLAN POEAmerican Romantic Writer, 1808-1849American Romantic Writer, 1808-1849

Poe helped promote a type of literature known as “Gothic”

His chilling short stories emphasized the bizarre and unusual

Among his most famous works was The Raven

http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/sg/poe/works/poetry/raven.html

MARY SHELLEYMARY SHELLEYEnglish Romantic Writer, 1797-1851English Romantic Writer, 1797-1851

Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, about a scientist who creates a humanlike monster has become a staple of high school English departments

PERCY SHELLEYPERCY SHELLEYEnglish Romantic Poet, 1792-1822English Romantic Poet, 1792-1822

Romantic poets believed their medium was most pure of all Romantics because it came directly from the soul

Percy, the husband of Mary Shelley, lived a brief but intense life

Wrote Prometheus Unbound, a poem about rebellion against society, rules and laws

LORD BYRON LORD BYRON English Romantic Poet, 1788-1824English Romantic Poet, 1788-1824

A true Romantic, Byron dramatized himself in his poem, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage

Died in heroic fashion fighting for Greek Independence against the Ottomans

WILLIAM WORDSWORTHWILLIAM WORDSWORTHEnglish Romantic Poet, 1770-1850English Romantic Poet, 1770-1850

Romantic poets first love was nature

Wordsworth epitomized that love

“One impulse from a vernal wood May teach you more of man, Of moral Evil and good, than all the sages can.” (Wordsworth, The Tables Turned)

ROMANTIC MUSIC ROMANTIC MUSIC KEY PLAYERS Ludwig van

Beethoven Hector Berlioz

Historians have called the 18th century the Age of Classicism and the 19th century the Age of Romanticism

Beethoven was the bridge between the two

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVENLUDWIG VAN BEETHOVENGerman Composer, 1770-1827German Composer, 1770-1827

http://www.epdlp.com/beethoven.html

Beethoven single- handedly transformed an era

He is widely considered the preeminent composer of all-time

THE MAN!!

BEETHOVENBEETHOVEN

Like true Romantic artists, Beethoven worked off of emotion

He said, “I must write, for what weighs on my heart, I must express”

BEETHOVENBEETHOVEN

By age 13 Beethoven was off to the music capital of Europe– Vienna, Austria

Between 1792-1800 he was still working within the Classical framework under the influence of both Haydn & Mozart

BEETHOVENBEETHOVEN

With the composition of the Third Symphony (Eroica- 1804), Beethoven broke through to the elements of Romanticism

His use of uncontrolled rhythms to create drama set his music apart

A prolific composer, Beethoven was increasingly afflicted by deafness

His famous Ninth Symphony was composed when he was totally deaf

HECTOR BERLIOZHECTOR BERLIOZFrench Composer, 1803-1869French Composer, 1803-1869

Considered a musical genius, Berlioz composed in the Romantic style

Ironically never achieved the notoriety in his native France that he did in Germany, Russia and Britain

HECTOR BERLIOZHECTOR BERLIOZ

Berlioz was one of the creators of “program music”

This was an attempt to use moods & sound effects to depict a story

His most famous was, “Symphonie Fantastique,” a story of an intense love affair that included a fifth movement in which musically he creates an opium-induced nightmare of a witches gathering