Romantic Period Flashcards
The Wreck of Hope/Sea of Ice
Romantic painting by (1823-1824) by Caspar David Friedrich
What is the Romantic Period
A period from 1750-1900, originating in Europe characterized by responses to the social, political, and philosophical trends that were popular during the Enlightenment period before.
Why was the Romantic Period so influential to the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries?
Attitudes and ideas practiced/celebrated by artists, writers, and philosophers during that time, gave rise to the innovation of psychology, radical politics, ecology, and experimental visual and literary art forms.
What were some of the “isms” of the Romantic Period?
Nationalism, Colonialism, Exoticism, Revolution, Heroism, Passion, Individualism, and Nature
Nationalism in the Romantic Period
Artists’ work expressed their love for their heritage and birthplace.
Revolution
Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution caused drastic social and political changes in Europe which was reflected in art.
Colonialism and Exoticism
Colonialism in Europe caused artists to draw inspiration from other countries, they viewed the cultures of other countries as exotic and depicting these was known as exoticism.
Romantic Heroism
Heroes in the Romantic period were more brains than brawn, they were not as traditional as the war heroes from other periods. Romantic heroism was more about using intellect and talent to make a statement about society.
Passion in the Romantic Period
The artwork was full of strong emotions like love and sadness which matters of life and death. They allowed themselves to burst out of the confinements of reason, logic, and Realism and explored the full spectrum of uninhibited human emotion.
Individualism
Romantic artists valued what it meant to be an individual, they were less concerned about global issues, and more so concerned with how issues affected people as an individual.
Naturalism
Romantic artists were inspired by the beauty and behavior of nature, and often personified it in their works.
The American Revolution’s influence on Romanticism
Since the U.S was trying to establish its own identity at this time apart from Europe, the writers and artists in the U.S. focused heavily on individualism.
Louis-Léopold Boilly’s Portrait of a sans-culotte
Cast the common man as a muscular, heroic (and nationalistic) figure.
Byronic Hero
English poet Lord Byron created a hero that possesses great talent, passion, and intelligence, but is at the same time flawed. Like Prometheus, the Byronic hero defies authority, rebelling against social constraints in pursuit of individual interests.
Heinrich Füger’s Prometheus brings fire to mankind
Romantic painting about Prometheus defying the God’s and stealing fire in order to give it to humanity, which symbolized freedom & autonomy.
How did Romantic philosophers respond to industrialization?
By shifting their focus back to the splendor of nature, encouraging people to seriously consider the feelings of awe, wonder, and even horror that the natural can bring about.
Romantic philosophic view on nature
They rejected empiricism and the scientific rationalization of nature and embraced the idea that certain things cannot be rationalized or known from experience.
What were the “isms” of Romantic Philosophy?
Idealism, Transcendentalism, Nationalism
Idealism
Reality is a mental construct, and therefore, the only knowledge we have of the world is knowledge of our mental experiences.
Transendentalism
People must become free and self-reliant by returning to nature and becoming closer to God
Nationalism
The political legitimacy of a state is derived from some inherent unity or cohesion among the people that live in the area governed by that state.
Friedrich Nietzsche
In “Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” Nietzsche rejects the traditional idea of objective truth and instead frames truth as something that a particular perspective must always create.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
American philosopher, who believed that there is a certain kind of knowledge that one cannot access through empirical investigation but only by turning one’s attention inward to the soul.
Romantic Literature
It sharply changed direction from the traditional narrative and poetic forms seen in the Enlightenment era, and focused on the individual’s emotional view and experience, even if it was illogical, irrational, or mysterious.
English Romantic Writers
William Wordsworth’s “Lyrical Ballads,” articulates is appreciation for the beauty of nature.
John Keats’ “Ode on A Grecian Urn” uses lyrical language to describe man’s relationship w/ nature.
Lord Byron “Byronic Hero”, details a hero that is more brains than brawn, focuses on his emotional talents
American Romantic Writers (Same themes as English, more nationalism).
Herman Melville’s ‘Moby Dick’ & ‘White Whale,’ illustrates man’s irrational idea of controlling nature.
Walt Whitman’s ‘Leave of Grass/Song of Myself’ depict his first person connection to humanity and nature
Gothic Writers (Use the Middle Ages, Superstition, and the Black Plague as the setting to invoke fear)
Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ shows the consequences of trying to play God and master nature makes monsters
The Bronte Sisters, ‘Jane Eyre’ challenges gender roles, and ‘Wuthering Heights’ incorporates disturbed characters and a old creepy house, illustrate when there is disharmony between humans and nature along with the terrors that can come w/ introspection
Edgar Allen Poe - THEE Gothic Writer of that time
Slave Narrative Writers
Frederick Douglas “Narrative…” - strong abolitionist literature
Harriet Jacobs “Incidents in the Life…”, Feminist abolitionist literature
Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman”, BLACK Feminist literature, calling for Black women to be added to the feminist movement
Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”
Gothic poem about Edgars inconsolable grief of the loss of his girlfriend Lenore, to the point that he sees death in all things, and then hallucinates an entire conversation with a Raven (nature/a harbinger of death) whom he assumes came just to taunt him in his darkest moments.
Romantic Art and
Romantic Art
The art celebrates the wildness and irrationality of human emotion and nature, conveyed through bolder colors, rapid brushstrokes, heroic and expressive sculptures. Works were very passionate with exotic subjects and settings.
Romantic Architecture
Created what is called ‘Gothic Revival’, the buildings were castle like, Germany’s Cologne Cathedral
Architects experimented more with iron, steel, & glass in their structures like London’s Crystal Palace.
Romantic Art Works
Eugene Delacroix’s ‘Liberty Leading the People,’, dramatic/boldly colored painting of war
Theo Gericault’s ‘The Raft of Medusa,’ depict a French shipwreck and the people who perished on the raft
Francisco De Goya’s ‘3rd of May’, depicts people dying by firing squad, also ‘Saturn Devouring his son’
JMW Turner’s Fonthill Abbey, painting of a white “downton Abbey”
Caspar David Friedrich’s ‘Wanderer above Sea Fog’ & ‘Wreck of Hope/Sea of Ice’ -moving nature paintings
Music in the Romantic Period (lasted the longest, even after the art, architecture, writing etc)
Music was less balanced and structured and full of passion/emotion, the musicians were nationalists so they wrote grand symphonies to inspire other nationalists. The symphonies expanded to include more percussion and keyboard instruments. The pieces tried to mimic nature. Operas became center stage and had more dramatic solos (Richard Wagner).
Romantic Composers
Johannes Brahms - Symphony no 1 in C minor
Frederic Chopin - Nocturne op 27, no 1\
Franz Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody
Richard Strauss - Strach Zarathustra
Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a theme of panganini
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9
Was the first major composer to use voices and poetry in his symphony
Romantic influence on Contemporary Culture
The 1970s hit “All by Myself” used Rachmaninoff’s Concerto no 2 as inspiration, Romantic chromaticism (displacing notes by a 1/2 step), to create emotionally unsettling sounds is used by Celine Dion and other performers. The “Star Spangled Banner” is a musical adaptation of the Romantic poem ‘Defense of Fort Henry.”
