Romanticism

refusal of academicism and greater expressive freedom of artists in technique, but also in the choice of their subjects

VIDEO LESSON

I insert the link to a video lesson on Romanticism that I prepared last year and which seems to me well done.

Unfortunately, the presentation I had created on the subject was lost.

I hope it will be useful to you

TIME LINE

Romanticism is historically characterized by the fall of Napoleon (Battle of Waterloo) and the subsequent Restoration , with consequent national uprisings for the conquest of independence .

It was born in a climate of social and political crisis that produces a sense of uncertainty .

We realize that Reason is not enough to contain all the multiple and multifaceted reality of man.

We are witnessing a change of taste and perspective in which the rationalist vision of the eighteenth century falls, leaving more and more space for the unconscious and the less clear sides of human nature and which will find the ideal background in the rediscovery of the Gothic period , in which they will be set. novels characterized by dark atmospheres.

Inizio pagina

Main features

a style not only artistic, but also literary, musical and cultural

fall of Napoleon

Restoration

strong and unconscious emotions instead of Reason

rediscovery of the religious spirit (faith in a being or a superior force external to man, and therefore uncontrollable)

Industrial Revolution

bourgeoisie and proletariat

rediscovery of the Gothic (in literature - Gothic novel and in architecture - Neo-Gothic style

FUNDAMENTAL THEMES

NATURE
LOVE OF PATRIA
HEROISM
SUBLIME

The term Romanticism does not only mean an artistic style, but also a wide-ranging literary, musical and cultural style .

From a social as well as an artistic point of view, attention shifts from the aristocracy to the bourgeoisie and the new social class of the proletariat that was born from the industrial revolution .

Art is no longer exclusive to the noble classes, but is increasingly commissioned by the exponents of the new bourgeoisie.

Within Romanticism, different strands emerge: one that focuses more on the landscape , investigating atmospheric phenomena, one that makes the subconscious and the unconscious prevail, inspired by new reflections in the psychological field (Freud and Jung); a more historical one, in which, through the representation of moments from past history, we speak of the present, of the desire of nations to achieve independence from external rulers, in which some characters become a symbol of the effort of some to oppose domination and 'injustice and in which the movements of the people are also represented and a more realistic one who prefers themes of everyday life, both to tell the change of life in the cities following the industrial revolution, and the innovations brought by technology, and the living conditions of the new social classes (the urban proletariat, in particular) and which aims to spread a certain sensitivity towards the poor living conditions in the suburbs of cities, the exploitation of labor in factories, female and child labor, with the aim of contributing to the change in the social and political situation. The boundaries are not precise between one and the other strand and often the themes are mixed in works with multiple aspects.

What is certain is that the painters' gaze is more realistic and gradually we move away from the somewhat aseptic art of the Neoclassical period, which continues to be taught in the academies. This means that many artists begin their training within these institutions, but then leave due to incompatibility trying to open new paths that better respond to the growing need for freedom . In painting this translates into brushstrokes charged with matter, often rapid and full of energy, while in sculpture less defined forms are experimented, starting from the suggestion of Michelangelo's technique of the unfinished.

In a schematic way, we can say that Romanticism is characterized by a flourishing of dualisms , contrasts between opposite aspects, which find expression in a Nature charged with vital and at the same time destructive energy .

At the basis of the various dualisms lies the conception of a complex human nature made up of rationality and emotions , sometimes uncontrollable because they are linked to the unconscious .

Recurring and typical themes of Romanticism are, in addition to Nature , love of country , heroism and the sublime .

Nature, it becomes the protagonist of the works not as a simple reproduction of reality, but as a mirror of the emotions that man feels . I would like to underline that when we talk about feelings and emotions in Romanticism we are far from the meaning with which this term is commonly used: Romanticism is not romanticism and not even sentimentality.

Nature is no longer a simple background in paintings whose protagonists are important men, but it itself becomes the protagonist.

The love of country is directly linked to the historical events that see peoples move to regain their political independence.

Heroism is linked to a vision in which it is the individual who makes the difference and personally opposes the forces of evil at the cost of his own life.

The sublime is the attitude of attraction, and at the same time of repulsion, which is generally associated with nature for its beauty, its vastness and its overwhelming strength in front of which man experiences his own smallness.

Among the artists who paved the way for Romanticism we remember Turner and Friedrich . In the works of the latter there are often references to Gothic architecture, in the form of ruins and which bring us back to the Gothic literature of the period .

In the German context, the fascination for ancient Germanic culture produces epic works such as Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelungs .