What is Romanticism?
Romanticism is a movement in the arts and literature which was originated in the late 18th century. Emphasizing inspiration, subjectivity and the primacy of the individual.
In Photography Romanticism is used in contrast with landscapes. Romantic landscapes celebrate the instinctive, imaginative and purity of nature. It can also evoke deep feelings of emotion and can add a deeper meaning to the images taken.
Romanticism was a reaction against the spread of industrialism, as well as a criticism of the aristocratic social and political norms. So it was then used to forward peoples attention to nature.
From the late 18th to mid-19th centuries, Romanticism was used to emphasise emotion, nature and individualism, which ended up contrasting strongly with Enlightenment due to Enlightenments focus being more on reason and universalism compared to Romanticisms which was the celebration of the individual and honouring nature.
John Constable
John constable created landscape paintings before they were known as a genre, One of his best pieces named Hay Wain (originally named “noon”) was painted of the River Stour in England. The Canvas used was large compared to typical landscapes at the time, This was part of Constables ‘Six-Footers’ series due to the size of the canvases used. Constables father owned the Flat ford Mill and the house you can see in the background of the landscape belonged to a neighbour Willy Lot who was said to be born in that house. John Constable was always very passionate about his paintings as he tries to paint areas or locations that he knows very well (Hay Wain being one of them) which helped to make his landscapes more meaningful and special. John Constable painted the piece using his memory and not in person with the view in his sight which makes the landscape he created even more impressive. Hay Wain was different to every other landscapes at the time especially with his use of a rough surface which allowed the textures to gain more details which made certain areas in the landscape like the water feel “real” and made the overall image look more realistic compared to other landscapes of that time period.
The Sublime
The Sublime is a feeling associated with strong emotions both positive and negative that are felt in front of nature. For example waterfalls which are typically seen as beautiful but at the same time terrifying with all the rocks protruding out the ground and the cliff which could be dangerous if anything were to ever move/fall at any time.
Edmund Buke defined sublime as an “an artistic effect productive of the strongest emotion the mind is capable of feeling”. Which basically is describing how our minds determine the feelings towards images, for sublime images (specifically landscapes) typically the mind would find the image both pleasing to look at but at the same time fearful of whatever danger could be into play.
J.M.W Turner
J.M.W Turner is a English romantic painter who was a sublime artist, He started making sublime artwork to show his viewers the feelings of awe and wonder that he experienced when tackling the majesty of nature. His paintings (made usually with oil paintings and water colours) often included dramatic scenes, for example some of his work consists of the rough sea with boats sailing creating this amazing view of the sky and the sea but making you feel uneasy with the boats that appear to be on the tipping point of flipping over.
