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Overview
What is Romanticism?
c. 1800 – 1850Period
EuropeBegan in
12Key artists on this page
12Works with free images
7Museums to visit
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjectivity, imagination, and appreciation of nature in society and culture in response to the Age of Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution. Romanticists rejected the social conventions of the time in favour of a moral outlook known as individualism. They argued that passion and intuition were crucial to understanding the world, and that beauty is more than merely an affair of form, but rather something that evokes a strong emotional response.From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Original Art Movements text
This is the text that appeared on this page on the original Art Movements site. It is kept for reference; some statements are simplified or out of date. Where it differs from the overview, characteristics and dates above, which are checked against Wikipedia and Wikidata, trust those instead.
Romanticism was basically a reaction against Neoclassicism, it is a deeply-felt style which is individualistic, beautiful, exotic, and emotionally wrought.
Although Romanticism and Neoclassicism were philosophically opposed, they were the dominant European styles for generations, and many artists were affected to a greater or lesser degree by both. Artists might work in both styles at different times or even mix the styles, creating an intellectually Romantic work using a Neoclassical visual style, for example.
Great artists closely associated with Romanticism include J.M.W. Turner, Caspar David Friedrich, John Constable, and William Blake.
In the United States, the leading Romantic movement was the Hudson River School of dramatic landscape painting.
Obvious successors of Romanticism include the Pre-Raphaelite movement and the Symbolists. But Impressionism, and through it almost all of 20th century art, is also firmly rooted in the Romantic tradition.
Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix, 1830 · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Period
c. 1800 – 1850
Began in
Europe
Key artists
Francisco Goya, William Blake, Taras Shevchenko, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Related
Neoclassicism, Hudson River School, Barbizon School
How to recognise it
Key characteristics of Romanticism
Emotion and imagination valued above reason
Awe before the power of nature: storms, mountains and the sea (the 'sublime')
Interest in the exotic, the supernatural and the medieval past
Dramatic colour and loose, expressive brushwork
The individual artist seen as an inspired genius
Timeline
When was Romanticism?
Romanticism is usually dated c. 1800 – 1850, beginning in Europe. Dates for art movements are approximate: artists joined and left, and styles overlapped.
Each bar shows an artist's life; the shaded band is the main period of Romanticism.
Henry Fuseli
Francisco Goya
William Blake
Thomas Lawrence
J. M. W. Turner
John Constable
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Horace Vernet
Théodore Géricault
Eugène Delacroix
Taras Shevchenko
Ivan Aivazovsky
Romanticism
1741–1825
1746–1828
1757–1827
1769–1830
1775–1851
1776–1837
1780–1867
1789–1863
1791–1824
1798–1863
1814–1861
1817–1900
1750180018501900
Who
Key Romanticism artists
Artists linked to Romanticism in Wikidata, ordered by how widely they are covered on Wikipedia. Artists marked Art Icons have a full profile on our sister site.
Emotion, imagination and the overwhelming power of nature, in reaction to the age of reason.
When was Romanticism?
Romanticism: c. 1800 – 1850. It began in Europe. Dates for art movements are approximate.
What are the main characteristics of Romanticism?
Emotion and imagination valued above reason; Awe before the power of nature: storms, mountains and the sea (the 'sublime'); Interest in the exotic, the supernatural and the medieval past; Dramatic colour and loose, expressive brushwork; The individual artist seen as an inspired genius.
Who are the most famous Romanticism artists?
Francisco Goya, William Blake, Taras Shevchenko, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Eugène Delacroix.
What are some famous Romanticism works?
Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix; The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault; The Third of May 1808 by Francisco Goya; La maja desnuda by Francisco Goya; The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough.
Where can I see Romanticism art?
Museo del Prado (Madrid, Spain), National Gallery (London, United Kingdom), Department of Paintings of the Louvre (France), The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens (San Marino, United States), Hamburger Kunsthalle (Germany) hold works shown on this page.
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