Romanticism and the Sublime

What is Romanticism ?

Romanticism is attitudes, ideals, and feelings which are romantic rather than realistic. Romantics celebrated the spontaneity, imagination, and the purity of nature. Along with these elements it also included 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.

when did romanticism come about and what was going on in the time?

The Romantic Period began roughly around 1798 and lasted until 1837. in 1789-1799 the french revolution took place followed by the napoleon war in 1815. 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 Enlightenment ,is a philosophical movement that dominated in Europe during the 18th century, was centered around the idea that reason is the primary source of authority and legitimacy, and advocated such ideals as liberty, progress, tolerance, fraternity, constitutional government, and separation of church and state to create a sense of free will. This also inspired the romanticism art to start.

romanticism and the sublime is like a rebellion of the heart against the head

what are characteristics of romanticism.

what does sublime mean?

sublime is the quality of greatness, sublime is like extraordinary or glorious. Romanticism artist try to use the sublime because it increases emotional depth in the art, and could even create a juxtaposition. the sublime shows that we are so small and inferior to these natural landscapes and it is emphasised ny the darkness and the comparison between the light.

Landscape art in the early 19th century was guided by two rival concepts: the picturesque, which emphasized touristic pleasures and visual delight, and the sublime, an aesthetic category rooted in notions of fear and danger.

what did edmund burke think was the ruling principle of the sublime?

 “and astonishment is that state of the soul, in which all its motions are suspended, with some degree of horror.” Here Burke makes the shocking and innovative observation that the sublime is in fact an important aesthetic category because of the terror

what is landscape photography?

Landscape photography is a broad genre that encompasses many different styles and techniques. Some photographers prefer to capture sweeping panoramas that showcase the scale of the natural world, while others focus on intimate landscapes close-up shots that reveal the intricate details of the environment.

john constable

the haywain 1821

Born- June 11, 1776, East Bergholt, Suffolk, England

Died – March 31, 1837, London.

John was a major figure in English landscape painting in the early 19th century. He is best known for his paintings of the English countryside, particularly those representing his native valley of the River Stour, an area that came to be known as “Constable country.”

In his studies of nature during the period, Constable reverted from oil to watercolour and drawing, and he exhibited a fascinating range of work, such as Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831).

Constable created this painting, which quoted motifs from his renowned Hay Wain, while agitation for parliamentary reform against the church made conservatives such as himself very anxious. This panic is perhaps embodied in the painting’s dramatic shifts in scale: the wagon appears enormous next to the houses, yet is dwarfed by the looming cathedral, which symbolically stands firm, enveloped in a rainbow, in the face of stormy skies.

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