ROMANTICISM

1. ROMANTICISM

2. The Spirit of the Age (1790-1850) • A sense of a shared vision among the Romantics. • Early support of the French Revolution. • Rise of the individual  alienation. • Dehumanization brought by industrialization. • Radical poetics / politics  an obsessionwith violent change.

3. 1. Emotions! Passion! Irrationality!

4. A Growing Distrust of Reason Enlightenment Romanticism Society is good, curbing violent impulses! Civilization corrupts! • The essence of human experience is subjective and emotional. • Human knowledge is a puny thing compared to other great historical forces. • “Individual rights” are dangerous efforts at selfishness  the community is more important.

5. The Romantic Movement • Began in the 1790s and peaked in the 1820s. • Mostly in Northern Europe, especially in Britain and Germany. • A reaction against classicism. • The “Romantic Hero:” • Greatest example was Lord Byron • Tremendously popular among the European reading public. • Youth imitated his haughtiness and rebelliousness.

6. Characteristics of Romanticism The Engaged & Enraged Artist: • The artist apart from society. • The artist as social critic/revolutionary. • The artist as genius.

7. Wandering Above the Sea of FogCaspar David Friedrich,1818

8. Lady Macbeth - Henry Fuseli, 1794

9. 2. The "Rugged" Individual

10. Characteristics of Romanticism The Individual/ The Dreamer: • Individuals have unique, endless potential. • Self-realization comes through art • Artists are the true philosophers. • Todeal with the harsh realities of life, Romantics sought solitude in nature • Key to emotional healing could be found in nature • Nature imagery is the most predominant feature of Romantic literature

11. The Dreamer Gaspar David Friedrich, 1835

12. Solitary Tree Caspar David Friedrich, 1823

13. 3. The Power & Fury of Nature

14. Characteristics of Romanticism Glorification of Nature: • Peaceful, restorative qualities [an escape from industrialization and the dehumanization it creates]. • Awesome, powerful, horrifying aspects of nature. • Indifferent to the fate of humans. • Overwhelming power of nature.

15. An Avalanche in the AlpsPhilip James de Loutherbourg, 1803

16. Sunset After a Storm On the Coast of Sicily – Andreas Achenbach, 1853

17. The DelugeFrancis Danby, 1840

18. The Wreck of the Hope (aka The Sea of Ice)Caspar David Friedrich, 1821

19. Shipwreck – Joseph Turner, 1805

20. 4. Science Can Be Dangerous!

21. Victor Frankenstein’s Science • Victor is a student of “natural philosophy” • Study of nature and the desire to know how nature functions – quest for knowledge was more philosophical than scientific • Victor influenced by: • Cornelius Agrippa • Renaissance philosopher and scientist • Work reflects strong interest in the occult and ancient, mystical “sciences” of the near East • Writings blend European interpretations of Plato’s philosophy with Jewish Kabalistic beliefs • Agrippa’s ideas were later discredited by the processes of observation and experimentation

22. Victor Frankenstein’s Science • Paracelsus • Renaissance philosopher and scientist • Introduced new concept of disease and the use of chemicals rather than herbs to treat diseases • Asserted that diseases were caused by external agents attacking the body • Contrary to traditional idea of disease as an internal upset of the body’s humors: yellow and black bile, blood, and phlegm • To cure the disease, attack external agent • Alchemy became the means by which the chemical remedies were prepared • Paracelsus changed the emphasis of the alchemy from chasing the mythological “Elixir of Life: or “Philosopher’s Stone” to making medicines

23. Isaac Newton – William Blake, 1795

24. Dr. Frankenstein’s Adam & Eve??

25. 5. The "New" Technology Is Dehumanizing

26. The Industrial Age • Flanked the Romantic Age • 1750-1850 • England moved from an agriculture to an industrial society • Home manufacturing to factory production • Made England prosperous and powerful

27. The Industrial Age • Exploitation of workers • Deplorable living conditions • Towns became cities • Villagers, forced by economic necessity, sought work in growing factories • Huddled together in filthy slums • Men, women, and children labored from sunrise to sunset • All children able to pull a cart in the suffocating coal mines or to sweep a floor in the textile factories worked • Poor children had essentially no religious training, medical care, or education

28. The Slave ShipJoseph Mallord William Turner, 1842

29. The Industrial • vs • the Romanticized • Country Life

30. Flatford Mill – John Constable, 1817

31. The Corn FieldJohn Constable,1826

32. The Hay Wain - John Constable, 1821

33. 7. The Gothic: "Romanticizing" the Middle Ages

34. Characteristics of Romanticism In Art, Revival of Past Styles: • Gothic & Romanesque revival. • “Neo-Gothic” architectural style. • Medieval ruins were a favorite theme for art and poetry.

35. Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s GroundJohn Constable, 1825

36. Salisbury Cathedral from the MeadowsJohn Constable, 1831

37. Hadleigh Castle - John Constable, 1829

38. Eldena RuinGaspar David Friedrich, 1825

39. Winter Landscape with ChurchGaspar David Friedrich, 1811

40. British Houses of Parliament1840-1865

41. 8. The Exotic, the Occult, and the Macabre!

42. Cloister Cemetery in the SnowCaspar David Friedrich, 1817-1819

43. Pity - William Blake, 1795

44. Characteristics of Romanticism and the Gothic The Supernatural: • Ghosts, fairies, witches, demons. • The shadows of the mind—dreams & madness. • The romantics rejected materialism in pursuit of spiritual self-awareness. • They yearned for the unknown and the unknowable.

45. Nightmare (The Incubus)Henry Fuseli, 1781

46. Mad Woman With a Mania of Envy TheodoreGericault, 1822-1823

47. Abbey in an Oak ForestCaspar David Friedrich, 1809-1810

48. The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the SunWilliam Blake, 1808-1810

49. Manfred and the Witch of the AlpsJohn Martin - 1837

50. Witches SabbathFrancisco Goya,1798