ROMANTIC ART, LITERATURE
AND MUSIC
A LATE 18TH CENTURY CHALLENGE
TO RATIONALISM & REASON
ROMANTICISM DEFINED
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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 ART
KEY PLAYERS
 Caspar David
Friedrich
 J.M.W. Turner
 Theodore Gericault
 Eugene Delacroix
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These artists
attempted to
express emotion
directly and
subjectively. They
rejected classical
restraint in favor of
warmth and
movement.
CASPAR DAVID FRIEDRICH
German Romantic, 1774-1840
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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 FRIEDRICH
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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 Turner
English Romantic, 1775-1851
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FOR MORE INFO...
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
J.M.W. TURNER
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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 GERICAULT
French Romantic, 1791-1824
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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 DELACROIX
French Romantic, 1798-1863
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FOR MORE INFO...
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 1830
EUGENE DELACROIX
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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 LITERATURE
KEY PLAYERS
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Johann von Goethe
 Thomas Carlyle
 Walter Scott
 Edgar Allan Poe
 Mary Shelley
 Percy Shelley
 Lord Byron
 William Wordsworth
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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 GOETHE
German Romantic Writer, 1749-1832
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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 CARLYLE
English Romantic Writer, 1795-1881
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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
English 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
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EDGAR ALLAN POE
American Romantic Writer, 1808-1849
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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/r
aven.html
MARY SHELLEY
English Romantic Writer, 1797-1851
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Shelley’s novel,
Frankenstein,
about a scientist
who creates a
humanlike monster
has become a
staple of high
school English
departments
PERCY SHELLEY
English Romantic Poet, 1792-1822
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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
English Romantic Poet, 1788-1824
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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 WORDSWORTH
English Romantic Poet, 1770-1850
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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
KEY PLAYERS
 Ludwig van
Beethoven
 Hector Berlioz
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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 BEETHOVEN
German Composer, 1770-1827
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http://www.epdlp.co
m/beethoven.html
 Beethoven singlehandedly
transformed an era
 He is widely
considered the
preeminent
composer of all-time
 THE MAN!!
BEETHOVEN
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Like true Romantic
artists, Beethoven
worked off of
emotion
 He said, “I must
write, for what
weighs on my
heart, I must
express”
BEETHOVEN
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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
BEETHOVEN
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With the composition of the
Third Symphony (Eroica1804), 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 BERLIOZ
French Composer, 1803-1869
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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 BERLIOZ
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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