Brittney Day
LA102 History
November, 3 2009
19th Century Romanticism
Thriving all over the globe, Romanticism made its mark on the history of art. The movement began in England, Germany and France and later spread at a phenomenal speed. There were three main components to Romanticism: Religion, Nationalism, and Literature. According to Romantic Art, 2003, the two movements that fought their way to the top in the 19th century were Classicism and Romanticism. The major difference between the two movements is the focus on nature and the reason behind it. Classicism focuses on nature and how to understand it with reason and thought. Romanticism however, focuses on nature and how to understand it spiritually.
The Romantic Art movement lasted from about 1815-1848 and more specifically focused on individualism, imagination, irrationalism, emotions and the triumph of emotions over reason and senses over intellect. Some artists’ work even focused on the mysterious, the occult, the diseased and even satanic, which ties into the religious component of romanticism. In most paintings, the artists would portray their religious interest in the form of symbols, such as cathedrals or crosses and created the mood or attitude towards religion by conducting the color scheme to elicit an emotional response from the viewer. In artistic terms, to try and elicit an emotional response by the viewer is called Expressionism, which is a movement within a movement; romanticism.
During the romantic era, art was not the only idea stirring in society. Poetry and literature were coming into play at an unprecedented speed. William Blake was an English painter, engraver, and a poet. His work is known to suggest novel ideas about Christianity. (William Blake, 2007) Also, it is said that some of Blake’s unfinished work was inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy. (Blake, 2007) Blake is an eccentric case in the time of romanticism. He falls under religion and literature for the era. His...