What is Romanticism?

Romanticism is an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe in the late 18th century. Previous to Romanticism being introduced was the Age of Enlightenment, also known as The Age of Reason. This was when emotion had been sucked from art and literature and people focused mainly on science and logic, whereas, romantics later rejected the whole idea of science and reason. During the Age of Romanticism, people explored the beauty of nature, emotion and life, creating an idealised reality within art and literature. The Age of Romanticism was also introduced during the industrial revolution, the development of cities and machinery, which may also explain the obsession with nature as it could have been an escape from the new reality.

Romanticism in Photography emerged alongside this movement, in the 19th century, and it involves capturing images with dramatic lighting, sublime scenes and dramatic landscapes, creating a sense of awe and nostalgia. Romantic photographers evoke these feelings and emotions through techniques and paying attention to the smaller details like the lighting, focus, composition and depth of field. In Romantic Art, Artists used small, close strokes of complementary colours to create brilliance and vivid visual effect. Overall, romanticism is defying realistic and scientific views on the world and, instead, exploring the emotional effects of the beauty and power of nature.

Here are some examples of Romanticism:

Art

Photography

What is the Sublime and how does it link to Romanticism?

Typically, Sublime is when something is really great, however, the Sublime in photography is when images evoke intense emotions and feelings of awe, whilst also being overwhelmingly beautiful and powerful to the point that they cause terror. This is because it makes people feel small and insignificant. The Sublime links to Romanticism as it’s the emotional effect which is created by romantic photographs and paintings. 

Edmund Burke and The Sublime

Source 1, Source 2 and Source 3

Edmund Burke was an Irish Political Philosopher who was best known for his . He served as a member of the parliament between 1766 and 1794 in the House of Commons of Great Britain and has published many books based on political arguments. Burke was the founder of modern conservatism with his publication of the ‘Reflections on the Revolution in France’ in 1790. Back in 1757, Edmund Burke published ‘A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful’. This was the first to separate the beautiful and the sublime into their own categories. Edmund Burke stated that the beautiful is aesthetically pleasing, whereas, the sublime is something that has the power to both compel and destroy us. Altogether, Burke transformed the meaning of the Sublime to ideas of the human experience and how things which are so beautiful can fill us with such horror.

Landscape history photography

The history of Landscape photography is to typically capture the presence of nature but can also focus on human made features or disturbances of landscapes.

Methods and techniques used

The correct technique for making Landscape photography is to make sure that your lens is the sharpest at two f stops from your widest aperture setting.

The impact of Landscape photography

The impact of landscape photography is to capture the effects of human activity on the environment. These serve as a consequence of irresponsible actions such as deforestation, pollution and climate change.

What is Romanticism in Photography ?

A movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasising inspiration of the individual. It was an intellectual and artistic movement and it originated in Europe.

Characteristics of Romanticism ?

Some of the characteristics of Romanticism are emotion, supernatural, awe of nature and appreciation of the beauties and wonders of nature and the environment and it heavily focuses individualism.

What is the Sublime ?

The sublime was where artists and writers were concerned about the individualism of human kind and with their relationship to the natural world. Painters and poets would celebrate the majesty by their paintings and work overwhelming people with nature and the natural environment. The sublime is the feeling that you get when you are stunned by the vast landscape of the environment or nature.

When was the sublime ?

The sublime emerged in the 17th century and acquired importance in the eighteenth century, Its development during this period was shown in James Beattie’s dissertations Moral and critical which explored the origin of the term.

Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke said that the sublime is the productive of the strongest emotion which the mind is capable of. It excites the idea of pain and danger but also terror. According to Burke, the Beautiful is that which is well-formed and aesthetically pleasing, whereas the Sublime is that which has the power to compel and destroy us.

The definition of Landscape as a genre – A genre that typically captures the presence of nature but can also focus on human-made features or disturbances of landscapes.

This term originates from the Dutch word landschap, which originally meant “region, tract of land” however it acquired the artistic connotation, “a picture depicting scenery on land” later on.

16th Century: ‘Landscape’ as an independent genre did not emerge in the Western tradition until the Renaissance in the 16th century.

17th Century: Classical Landscape was born. These landscapes were influenced by classical antiquity and sought to illustrate an ideal landscape recalling Arcadia, a legendary place in ancient Greece known for its quiet pastoral beauty.

Even as landscapes became acceptable as a genre in the 17th century, they were still often seen and created as settings for biblical, mythological, or historical scenes.

Late 18th Century to 19th Century: Landscape painting eventually gained prominence with the rise of Romanticism, and often continued to carry a religious significance. This was because people started appreciating landscapes much more and wanting to preserve it.

Romanticism was an emphasis on emotion and individualism as well as glorification of the past and nature. The main purpose for romanticism was that it celebrated the individual imagination and intuition in the enduring search for individual rights and liberty.

In between the years of 1826 and 1827, we had seen the first urban landscape photo taken by a French inventor by the name of Nicéphore Niepce. The influence of landscape photography led to decades of vitality in the world of painting, as artists were both inspired by photographic images and pushed beyond realism, and rethought the very nature of art.

20th Century: The world saw American photographers at the forefront of landscape photography, and this was because they had a rather vast and varied array of landscapes to photograph. 

A lot of landscape images and portraits were taken during the Victorian era of photography, but it was in 1904 when Edward Steichen produced a photograph known as Moonlight: The Pond that landscape photography gained certain recognition in the art world. Another pioneer for landscape photography was Ansel Adams, one of the masters of photography of the 20th century.

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The Landscape Genre

what is landscape as a genre?

Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition.

when was the genre “landscape” first founded?

Although paintings from the earliest ancient and Classical periods included natural scenic elements, landscape as an independent genre did not emerge in the Western tradition until the Renaissance in the 16th century.

examples of the first landscape photography

Back when Landscape photography was first discovered it was not widely appreciated.

Romanticism:

what is romanticism in history?

Romanticism emphasized the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental. Travel to the turn of the 19th century to experience the Romantic musical, literary, and artistic movement.

What is romanticism in photography?

Romanticism has long been associated within the landscape. In the medium of photography, the sense of romance of the landscape features it spirit in full bloom. It is very hard to categorise. The very nature of Romanticism is rather uncontrollable and unpredictable.

characteristics of romanticism:

Emotion

Emotion and Intuition. Another characteristic the Romantics valued was emotion and intuition.

Awe of nature

Romantics stressed the awe of nature in art and language and the experience of sublimity through a connection with nature.

Spiritual and supernatural elements

Spiritual and Supernatural Elements. The writers of the Romantic era did not turn away from the darker side of emotion and the mysteries of the supernatural elements of nature.

Individualism

Individualism and Solitude. Romanticism appeals to individualism, rather than conventional norms or collectivism.

what is meant by the sublime?

The sublime definition:

The sublime means of very great excellence or beauty. The sublime is when you connect emotion to the natural world and find strong feelings towards surroundings.

When was the sublime first founded?

The sublime first came around in 1757 (18th century) through Edmund burkes philosophical enquiry. He connected the sublime with feelings of awe, terror and fear. Edmund says that nature provides the strongest sensations and emotions. It is the centre of finding your creative capabilities.

Edmund Burk and the sublime:

Edmund Burkes quotes:

“Hence arises the great power of the sublime, that, far from being produced by them, it anticipates our reasonings, and hurries us on by an irresistible force.”

his book based on the sublime:

photographs that represent the sublime:

These images represent the sublime as they show one solitary figure ina wide open natural landscape which

Romanticism emphasised the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental.

For the western world it was it its peak from approximately 1800-1850. Romanticism was characterised by its emphasis on emotion and individualism as well as glorification of the past and nature, preferring the medieval over the classical

Romantics celebrated the spontaneity, imagination, and the purity of nature. Along with these elements it also incorporated a deep feeling of emotion as an authentic source of experience which put new emphasis on emotions such as apprehension, horror and terror, and awe.

Romanticism is marked by a focus on individualism, an emphasis on nature, emotion over reason, freedom of form, and an exploration of the Gothic and unknown.

The birth of the classical landscape

Landscape with a Calm, Nicolas Poussin, 1650–1651

In the 17th century the classical landscape was born. These landscapes were influenced by classical antiquity and sought to illustrate an ideal landscape recalling Arcadia, a legendary place in ancient Greece known for its quiet pastoral beauty. In a classical landscape the positioning of objects was placed strategically, every tree, rock, or animal was carefully placed to present a harmonious, balanced, and timeless mood.

The Modern Landscape

Irises, Vincent van Gogh, 1889

The 19th century held many milestones for the history of landscape art. As the Industrial Revolution altered the traditions of rural life, the old hierarchy of subjects crumbled. Barbizon painters such as Théodore Rousseau and Charles Daubigny became less concerned with idealized, classical landscapes and focused more on painting out-of-doors directly from nature—a practice known as plein air painting. The influence of Courbet’s distinct use of paint and the way he structured his landscape views extended well beyond impressionism, deeply impacting the work of Cézanne and Van Gogh, as well as painters in the 20th century.

Sublime

Sublime is a theory developed by Edmund Burke in the mid 18th century, where he defined sublime art as art that refers to a greatness beyond all possibility of calculation, measurement or imitation. In aesthetics the sublime is the quality of greatness, weather physical, moral, intellectual, aesthetic, spiritual or artistic An example of the sublime is looking up at a steep mountain or the stormy sea and feeling a sense of awe due to the vastness of the scene.

The sublime has been long understood to mean a quality of greatness that inspires awe and wonder. the concept and emotions it inspires have been a source of inspiration for artists and writers, particularly in relation to the natural landscape.

Moodboard

Landscape photography or art is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees or forests. This can either mean it’s been man made or naturally made. The word Landscape appeared in the late 16th century where it was first introduced by Dutch painters who used it to refer to paintings of inland natural or rural scenery.

16th century

European art of the 16th century was marked by the spread of renaissance. Renaissance is a period in history and cultural movement marking the transitions from the middle ages to modernity. This took place between the 14th and 17th century, promoting the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art.

17th century

During the 17th century the birth of classical landscapes was born, these scenes were set in the mythic and idyllic Arcadia of Ancient Greece.

Baroque style was was very popular art in Europe during the 17th century. It first originated in Italy then spread throughout Europe adapting and changing in style as it spread through different countries and regions. Many would say the baroque style is dramatic, has energetic movement and has an expressive use of light and shadow.

18th century

Landscape painting eventually became more famous during the late 18th century along with the rise of romanticism. This quickly became a very expressive style of painting, as painters would communicate their feelings and thoughts through their brush strokes and in there style of painting. We can also see this through their emotions and how they connected to nature. they often had a religious significance.

Romanticism is  is an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe. What are the 5 characteristics of American romanticism? Romanticism is marked by a focus on individualism, an emphasis on nature, emotion over reason, freedom of form, and an exploration of the Gothic and unknown. Artists have been painting the landscape since ancient times. The Greeks and Romans created wall paintings of landscapes and gardenscapes. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the tradition of depicting pure landscapes declined, and the landscape was seen only as a setting for religious and figural scenes. This tradition continued until the 16th century when artists began to view the landscape as a subject in its own right. The Netherlands was one of the first places that landscape had become a popular subject for painting. At this time, the rising Protestant middle class sought secular art for their homes, creating the need for new subjects to meet their tastes, in which landscapes helped fill this need.

 The hierarchy of respectable painting subjects placed history painting, which included classical and religious themes, above all other subjects. Portraits, scenes of everyday life, still life, and landscapes were seen as inferior subjects for painting. Even as landscapes became acceptable as subjects in the 17th century, they were still often created merely as settings for biblical or historical scenes.

The Modern Landscape:

Irises, Vincent van Gogh, 1889

Throughout Europe and North America landscape painting gained a new supremacy. Painters such as Théodore Rousseau and Charles Daubigny became less concerned with idealized, classical landscapes and focused more on painting out-of-doors directly from nature—a practice known as plein air painting. The 19th century also saw the birth of landscape photography, which would greatly influence the landscape painters’ compositional choices. Revolutionary artists emerged, such as Gustave Courbet, who pushed the boundaries of landscape painting even further by making it both a tactile and visual experience.

20th Century Lanscapes:

The New York Times, Robert Adams

In the early 20th century, painters continued to embrace the landscape. As photography gained acceptance as an art form, artists used this to create interpretations of the land through pictorialism. Later, through formal compositions of close-up, they cropped views of the landscape. In America, photographer Ansel Adams captured the country’s attention with his breathtaking views of the wild beauty of the American West. Even though the major artistic movements of the mid-20th century were no longer dominated by the landscape as a subject, the genre’s importance continued as artists responded to fears of increased industrialization, the threat of global destruction, and ecological disasters.

What is the Sublime?

The sublime is the quality of greatness beyond all measure. The term especially refers to a greatness beyond all possibility of measurement or imitation. The theory of sublime art was put forward by Edmund Burke in a philosophical Enquiry published in 1757. He defined the sublime as an artistic effect productive of the strongest emotion the mind is capable of feeling.

The sublime can be summed up as a combination of the internal/emotional and the external/natural world. It explores how humans allow our emotions to overwhelm our rationality as we experience the wonder of creation. It can also be described as the quality of greatness such as…

• Physical
• Moral
• Intellectual
• Metaphysical
• Aesthetic
• spiritual
• Artistic

What is the sublime in British romanticism?

The sublime is closely linked with the English Romanticism – artists and writers. In particular, those works of painting or poetry that celebrate the majesty and overwhelming power of the natural world. It is an artistic effect productive of the strongest emotion the mind is capable of feeling.

This is an example of a romantic landscape painting from the 16th century. It incorporates the idea of the sublime as it can be described as magical, yet also ominous. The lighting and tones in this photograph are mysterious and threatening, yet it also does not reveal a lot. This is effective as it leaves us questioning what is happening in the painting, and perhaps we wonder if the artist experienced this in real life as it has a strong sense of realism. The texture of the painting looks extremely rough, as we can see the powerful waves forcefully crashing against the sea wall. There are also contrasting colours in the waves, with hints of coral in between the blue and white tones. As there is a lot of white towards the peaks of the waves, we can assume the waves are very strong and are crashing impenetrably, which gives the image more life and expression. The dull sky also adds to the mysterious mood to the photograph, because it has similar tones and colours to the sea. The majority of the sky is one shade of dark grey, which highlights the white strip going through the clouds and makes it stand out against the rest. This contrasts well as we can determine how dark the clouds are against the singular strip of sunlight, which gives the entire image an ominous mood.

What is it?

Definition-a movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual.

romanticism can be seen as a rejection of the advancing times, a focus on the calm, harmonic and idealised. a romanticist would feel very strongly about representing the beauty of the world that is untouched by man.

typically romanticism is seen in paintings, this is because an artist would often idealise and paint now what they saw but what they wished they had.

romanticism was considered a rejection of the enlightenment period as the world focused on intellect and fast development

When did it develop?

During the first half of the 19th century, the Romantic movement blossomed across the arts, music, and history. Led by the likes of Caspar David Friedrich and William Blake, visual artists aimed to capture a transcendent union between nature, science, humanity, and the divine.

Why did it develop?

its emphasis on the imagination and emotion, Romanticism emerged as a response to the disillusionment with the Enlightenment values of reason and order in the aftermath of the French Revolution of 1789.

The early period of the Romantic era was a time of war, with the French Revolution (1789–1799) followed by the Napoleonic Wars until 1815. These wars, along with the political and social turmoil that went along with them, served as the background for Romanticism.

Examples of romanticists:

John constable- John Constable RA was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedham 

Born: April 23, 1775, Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom

Died: December 19, 1851 (age 76 years), Chelsea, London, United Kingdom

Period: Romanticism

JMW Turner- Joseph Mallord William Turner RA, known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulent, often violent marine paintings.

Born: April 23, 1775, Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom

Died: December 19, 1851 (age 76 years), Chelsea, London, United Kingdom

Period: Romanticism

The sublime

In aesthetics, the sublime is the quality of greatness, whether physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual, or artistic. The term especially refers to a greatness beyond all possibility of calculation, measurement, or imitation.

The theory of sublime art was put forward by Edmund Burke in A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful published in 1757. He defined the sublime as an artistic effect productive of the strongest emotion the mind is capable of feeling.

The Age Of Enlightenment (1700-1800) VS The Age Of Romanticism (1800-1900)

Artists and Writers rejected the notion of enlightenment, which was also known as the age of reason, meaning everything was thought about theoretically, there was an intellectual and philosophical movement that occured in Europe which had a global effect. “the pursuit of knowledge obtained by means of reason and the evidence of the senses, and ideals such as natural law, liberty, progress, toleration, fraternity, constitutional government, and separation of church and state”

The shift, in short, Romanticism seeks to find the role of the individual in a chaotic and mutable world, while the Enlightenment looks for the empirical and justifiable strictures of such a world. The Enlightenment stressed reason as to the key of truth, whereas romantics emphasized feelings and emotions as the source of knowledge. Romanticism was a revolt against the aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and also a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature. Romanticism legitimized the individual imagination as a critical authority, which permitted freedom from classical notions of form in art.

The Meaning Of Romanticism

Put simply romanticism is ‘describing and portraying things in an emotional way rather than a intellectual way’. It may even be described as admiring the true beauty of nature, a general emotion over reason. Many Romantic ideals were first articulated by German thinkers in the Sturm und Drang movement, which elevated intuition and emotion above Enlightenment rationalism. Romanticism placed the highest importance on the freedom of the artist to authentically express their sentiments and ideas. A glorification of elements, a spiritual higher power side of describing and meaning, leaving things up to the gods and letting nature carry its way rather than looking into everything.

Examples

Henry Fuseli’s Romantic artwork, The Nightmare, was the first of its kind making Fuseli somewhat of a transitional figure– leading the progression of art from The Age of Reason to Romantic-era art. The woman has her arms stretched below her, with a demon-like incubus crouched on top of her, glaring threateningly at the viewer. Partially hidden, we see a mysterious mare with bewitching white eyes and flaring nostrils. In Fuseli’s ghastly portrayal, he paints the woman in an idealized manner, which coincides with the principles of Neoclassicism. (Neoclassicism was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity)The Nightmare frightened and shocked its audience when exhibited at London’s Royal Academy. It was unlike anything the public was used to seeing, as the subject matter was not taken from the bible or a moment in history, nor was it created for the sake of moralizing the viewer.

The painting depicts massive waves sweeping across a volatile ocean. The wreckage floats in the painting’s foreground.The figures cling to the debris from the ship, in the face of death they attempt to save themselves. It is suggested that the wreckage forms the shape of a cross, indicating a religious undertone in Aivazovsky’s work. This work serves as an allegory, according to Christianity, for salvation from sin.The palette of the painting utilizes warm tones, diminishing the ferocity of the sea and conveying a sense of hope and a chance for survival. Aivazovsky masterfully demonstrates the beauty and devastation of nature. 

Ansel Adams

Yosemite National Park

Growing up Ansel Adams became interested in playing the piano, he taught himself how to play and read music at the age of 12. However, Adams stopped playing the piano and focused on photography. His first camera was an Eastman Kodak Brownie Box Camera which he would take to the Yosemite National Park and take photographs there, especially The Sierra Nevada. In 1927 Ansel Adams became the tour guide and photographer of the Sierra Club. However, he was not just a tour guide and photographer Ansel Adams also was an environmentalist at the park.

Kings Canyon National Park

Ansel Adams was highly associated with Kings Canyon National Park. He was known Because of his photography which was photographs of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range which includes Kings Canyon and its surrounding nature. In the 1920s/1930s Ansel Adams explored the Sierra Nevada, he photographed its natural areas, high mountains and rocky settings. As well as his photography work at the national park, Adams would also protect the environment there and was a part of the board of directors for the Sierra Club which is a popular environmental organisation. He used his photography work to influence others to protect and admire the natural world around them.

Ansel Adams invented the Zone System in the early twentieth century. The zone system is  a technique for picking the best exposure and controlling the tones in monochrome photos. The technique breaks down a photos tone into 10 zones, starting with pure black (Zone 0) and ending with pure white (Zone X) with shades of grey in between, which is shown in the image above. Photographers use the Zone System to guess how different shades in a place will appear in the final photo.