Transcription
Hi guys and welcome back to the channel. Today's video is dedicated to Romanticism, a movement born at the end of the eighteenth century as a reaction to the order and perfection of the rival Neoclassicism.
Romanticism, however, in art reached its maximum representation only after 1800. And above all, for each European nation, it was characterized in a different way, due to the choice of themes or the characteristics of the works. The main theme of the works of this period are emotions. In fact, romantic artists move away from the concepts of logic and rationality, and express feelings that were previously left aside. Movement, color, and drama become the center of their works.
The world for the Romantics is a world of inner forces and above all of nature, which are often destructive and almost always beyond the reach of man, therefore not easily controllable. And in contrast to this nature, man is small, vulnerable, and always in danger. Themes such as melancholy and disturbing subjects that underline the fragility of the human being in the face of a hostile world become characteristic of the works of Fuseli, Blake, and Goya. Theirs is a universe of extreme emotions: horror, dreams, and sometimes violence. Supernatural forces that are beyond human understanding and sometimes control.
Romanticism is welcomed and carried forward by artists who want to redefine the figure of man and the role of art in a world that at that moment is facing many changes. With the French Revolution of 1789 and the advent of Napoleon Bonaparte, European artists feel the need to create works full of ambiguity and chaos. This was also in response to the ideals of the Enlightenment that wanted science and rationality at the basis of the perception of the world. But despite this rebellion against the order of Neoclassicism, the art produced by early Romantic artists such as Fuseli and his contemporaries still uses the stereotypes of antiquity with the only difference that the bodies are distorted in often improbable positions and the gestures are particularly dramatic.
The first romantic artists are influenced by witchcraft, dreams, and apparitions, but above all by emotions. Strong and accentuated emotions. Such as in the works of the English artist William Blake. And the historical period that becomes a bit of a reference point for romantic artists is the Middle Ages, understood as a primitive world, instinctive, and made up of passions. This leads to the birth of the Gothic revival in architecture, but also to the involvement of artists in the struggles for political and above all social freedom. Contrary to what happened for Neoclassicism, where classical Greek and Roman art, precisely as the name implies, was exalted as the highest expression of man's artistic ability, for Romanticism, the Middle Ages became the center, the point of reference.
From the point of view of the composition of the works, the art of the nineteenth century has always been considered a bit complex. On the one hand, there is the construction of the work through the line for Neoclassicism, with artists such as Ingres. And on the other hand, the extreme use of color for Romanticism, with artists like Delacroix.
Depending on the nation and over the years, the themes of Romanticism have gradually evolved. In France, rebellion, but above all human freedom, is, for example, the fundamental theme. In "The Raft of the Medusa" by Géricault, there are no compromises: the battle against death can be seen on the one hand as a heroic gesture or on the other as a total failure. In this case, among other things, a real event is told, not a supernatural episode. And another French artist who has remained in the history of Romanticism is Eugène Delacroix. His most famous work is "Freedom Leading the People." From here, we understand how the political theme is at the center of the works for the French, while the German and English artists are more linked to the landscape and to the relationship between man and nature.
In the work "The Wanderer on the Sea of Fog" by the German artist Friedrich, it is as if the viewer were inside the storm to make him feel the same emotions as the painted character. And another example of landscape in Romanticism are the works of the English artist William Turner. These are abstract paintings where sensations are transmitted through the colors and swirls of his storms.
In Italy, however, the ideals of Romanticism are aligned with those of the Risorgimento and the political role of art. The greatest exponent of this movement is Hayez, with works such as "The Kiss," of which there are several versions, including one with a white dress that I was lucky enough to see several years ago in Trieste, exhibited at the Miramare Castle. The art of Romanticism is therefore based on the values of the individual and of sentiment. And in this period, the myth of the artist-genius is formed, which is opposed to the rules of society.
In Spain, the greatest exponent is one of my favorite artists, Francisco Goya. Many of his works can be found in the Prado Museum in Madrid, one of the must-see museums if you visit the city. Goya, as well as the early Romantics, often uses supernatural themes or themes of ancient religions, but always to describe the problems of society or human emotions. For example, between 1819 and 1823, it is said that he decorated his house with 14 murals on terrifying themes, like the famous "Saturn Devouring His Children," dedicated to the Greek myth. But at the same time, like the French artists, he too dedicates himself to the theme of political rebellion and human freedom, as in the work "The Third of May 1808," where he recounts the fear and also the strength of the Spanish rebels who are killed by soldiers. French. Once again, a Romantic artist has therefore put the emotions of man at the center of the work, making the horror of death live in the first person.
With the development of the Second Industrial Revolution in the mid-nineteenth century and the increasing diffusion of the Academies, Romanticism in art will begin to give way to other movements. And it will no longer be only man with his emotions to be at the center of the works, but also the world around him and above all the representation of nature, as we will discover together with the Impressionists.
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