Romanticism in Art, Architecture and 19th-Century Sculpture

Romanticism: Art, Architecture, and Sculpture

Romanticism was a reaction to the rationalist culture of the Enlightenment. While Enlightenment thinkers and artists criticized traditional society and believed in the power of reason, Romanticism focused more on the emotional aspects. Romantic art and culture emphasized elements beyond day-to-day life and people’s usual environments: the exoticism of distant countries (especially in the Orient), fantasy, melancholy, history (especially medieval history), and tragic or heroic situations. Depictions of nature also reflected that interest in the extraordinary: wild and impressive landscapes, impenetrable forests, enormous angry waves, and so on.

Architecture

In architecture, Romantic Historicism, which sought to recreate the past through an artistic medium, focused on medieval styles, particularly the Gothic. In France, architect Viollet-le-Duc restored medieval castles and cathedrals. In Great Britain, the Neo-Gothic style became very popular and included important buildings such as the Houses of Parliament in London.

Painting and Major Artists

French painters such as Eugène Delacroix and Théodore Géricault were particularly influential. Delacroix’s famous painting Liberty Leading the People combined the Romantic taste for the heroic with the political themes of nationalism and the liberal revolution of 1830.

There were also important Romantic painters in Germany and Great Britain, including Caspar David Friedrich, who painted impressive landscapes with small human figures, and English landscape artists Constable and Turner.

Liberty Leading the People — Delacroix (1798–1863)

Liberty Leading the People, by Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863)

French painters such as Eugène Delacroix and Théodore Géricault were particularly important. Delacroix’s famous painting Liberty Leading the People combined the Romantic taste for the heroic with the political themes of nationalism and the liberal revolution of 1830.

There were also important Romantic painters in Germany and Great Britain, including Caspar David Friedrich, who painted impressive landscapes with small human figures, and English landscape artists Constable and Turner.

This painting was inspired by the French Revolution of 1830, which led to Louis-Philippe of Orléans being crowned king. Victor Hugo also described this revolution in his book Les Misérables.

Details and Allegorical Figures

1. The central allegorical figure, wearing a Phrygian cap and holding the French flag in one hand and a rifle in the other, represents Liberty. Phrygian caps were given to freed slaves in Ancient Greece.
2. The man in the top hat represents the middle class.
3. The boy with the cap and two pistols represents the workers.
4. The dead soldiers represent Charles X’s troops.

Sculpture

Romantic sculpture remained influenced by classicism, so its characteristics differ somewhat from those of Romantic painting. Sculptors often combined emotional expressiveness with classical form and technique.