From Romanticism to Post-modernism - Essay Example

?Humanities II Romanticism to Post-Modernism: Humanities II Essay Romanticism to Post-Modernism 2 Romanticism to Post-Modernism: Humanities II Essay The elements of Romanticism Romanticism was a movement that had its origins in the late 18th century. It was, in part, a reaction to the formal structure and order of Neo-Classicism. The Romantics embraced the personal and the passionate in works of art, literature and music that emphasized aesthetics of feeling and experience rather than the abstract. The highly subjective nature of the Romantic movement, which became pervasive in the 19th century, inspired artists to express their own hopes, fears and interests. As the movement grew, it gave rise to expressions of the fantastic and the exotic (Cunningham & Reich, 459). While Romanticism can be a nebulous concept, it’s most accurately expressed through a core group of elements in art and in literature. One of its earliest manifestations was a love of nature, expressed by artists throughout Europe, who exhibited an unprecedented use of personal perspective, scope and color. This was, in large part, a reaction against the onset of modern society. “The growing industrialization of life in the great cities, and the effect of inventions like the railway train on urban architecture stimulated a ‘back-to-nature’ movement as Romanticism provided an escape from the grim realities of urbanization and industrialization” (Cunningham & Reich, 430). This style struck a chord with people who were, in their own ways, seeking an escape from the de-personalizing effects of society. As the Romantic style gained momentum in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it became more self-consciously a rejection of classical art forms. The American and French revolutions utilized classical forms to express their rejections of the old forms of government Romanticism to Post-Modernism 3 against which they were rebelling (Cunningham and Reich, 424). The leaders of America’s revolution against Great Britain borrowed heavily from classical forms of architecture to express a timeless connection between their Democratic form of government and that of the ancients Greeks and Romans. For Romantic artists, this was a limiting artistic convention not adapted to the kind of self-expression with which the new style was infused. In the early phase of the Romantic movement, Goethe’s plays served as a literary catalyst for the turbulent, aggressive Sturm und Drang school. His works were prototypes of the emotionalism and rejection of governmental authority that characterized Romanticism. “Modern criticism still considers Goethe’s use of dramatic technique in the Sturm und Drang as unconventional and revolutionary with respect to dramatic forms in general and Aristotelian drama in particular” (Stewart, 277). This trend would come to encompass music, poetry and the philosophy of Emmanuel Kant, Georg Hegel and Arthur Schopenhauer. The political environment in Europe at the time was set in turmoil by the French revolution and its aftermath. The Napoleonic wars of the late 18th and early 19 centuries aggravated nationalistic fervor throughout the continent. This historic and political cataclysm had a profound influence on artists and thinkers. Romanticism lent itself readily to mythological themes, and the great life-and-death struggle that engulfed Europe inflamed the mythologies and folk traditions in every European nation. In Germany, for instance, this phenomenon found its apex in the ancient Norse mythology that Richard Wagner would fashion into his famous Ring cycle opera. The lasting impact of Romanticism was that the nationalism of Europe’s nation Romanticism to Post-Modernism 4 states was enhanced - in some cases created - by the writers and artists of the Romantic movement. “Many Romantic artists identified with the nationalist movements of the times and either supported their own country’s fight for freedom (as in the case of Verdi) or championed the cause of others (as did Lord Byron)” (Cunningham and Reich, 460). Perhaps the best description of the Romantic movement’s impact on the arts was E.T.A. Hoffmann’s explanation of the effect Beethoven’s music had on the listener. Hoffmann said Beethoven managed to evince the highly emotional, experiential nature of Romanticism with music that “sets in motion the lever of fear, of awe, of horror, of suffering, and awakens that infinite longing which is the essence of Romanticism” (Honour, 24). As such, artists “appealed only to their own sensibilities – to their own ‘living experience’ – which alone could grant value and authenticity to the work” (Honour, 25). The emotionalism that fired Romantic artists gradually acquired nationalistic fervor as the struggles of France, Spain, Germany and other European countries attracted the attention of the great painters, composers and poets. The 19th century novel The 19th century was a watershed period in the development of the novel, which surpassed poetry and other forms of prose as the principal form of literary expression in Europe and America. The writers of this era were influenced by the Romantic movement and also by cultural and social conditions, a subject that became a powerful source of commentary in the novels of Charles Dickens. William Makepeace Thackeray concentrated on the English middle class, while American author Henry James wrote powerfully about the clash of culture and class, Romanticism to Post-Modernism 5 particularly the intersection of English and American cultural and social norms. Other novelists focused on the nature of human relationships and the depth of human emotion. The ascendancy of the novel was a truly international phenomenon, and the “the nineteenth century was the great age of the novel, with Honore de Balzac and Gustave Flaubert writing in France and above all Leo Tolstoy in Russia” (Cunningham and Reich, 460). As an artistic form, the novel evolved into heretofore unexplored realms of expression, ranging from racism to investigations of the human mind. “In the hands of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Marcel Proust, the novel became a vehicle to reveal the effects of the subconscious on human behavior…” (Cunningham and Reich, 493). Emily Bronte’s work has a powerful Gothic ethic that gives her fiction a sense of place and atmosphere unparalleled in the genre. The oeuvre of the 19th-century novel, which draws so heavily on these elements of place and time, is distinct from the literary canon of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, which is imbued with a modern angst, an accelerated narrative pace and technological conditions utterly unknown to 19th-century writers. At present, the novel has inherited a style that is largely non-linear, one that has been affected by intellectual and sensory influences not present in the 19th century. This has led to a “tradition” in which plot, the great common element among the 19th century’s great novelists, has become marginalized, or dispensed with altogether (Grossman, 2009). The significance of Romantic art Painters of the Romantic era turned away from the constraining influence of Neo-Classical forms in favor of more colorful, fanciful and vivid imagery (Cunningham and Reich, Romanticism to Post-Modernism 6 The great artists who broke away from the conventions of the past were inspired by the emotional power of the new form that engulfed Europe. Perhaps more than any other art form, painting was impacted by political developments, by war and revolution, both of which typified the tumultuous 19th century, in which the old monarchical and aristocratic systems were beginning their slow decline. Francisco Goya famously portrayed an execution of Spanish partisans during the Napoleonic wars. This painting became virtually synonymous with 19th century ideas of nationalism and resistance to political tyranny. Romanticism also inspired artists to explore dark, seemingly disjointed themes, including dreamscapes that offered artistic insight into the human (i.e. the artist’s) psyche. In 1798, Goya painted The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, which addresses this notion with an image that portrays the belief that monstrous thoughts will intrude even on the realm of logic and reason (Cunningham and Reich, 426). In Germany, Romanticism had a profoundly unifying effect. Throughout most of the 19th century, Germany was little more than a patchwork of individual states, many of which harbored historic antipathies toward each other. Romanticism helped unify Germany as a cultural entity, drawing on historical and mythological sources. Caspar David Friedrich drew on sources of German folklore and mythology in his early 19th-century paintings, which were part of a strong, anti-French, anti-Napoleonic movement that began the slow, yet inexorable consolidation of the German states. Friedrich was among the first to infuse his art with overt political symbolism. In France, a new breed of painters personified many of the virtues of the Romantic Romanticism to Post-Modernism 7 movement. “The fully committed Romantics included Theodore Gericault, also concerned to point out injustice, and Eugene Delacroix, whose work touched on virtually every aspect of Romanticism: nationalism, exoticism, eroticism” (Cunningham and Reich, 460). Delacroix and Gericault countered the classical orderliness of a David, whose glorification of the French revolution sought to connect the philosophical primacy and empirical legitimacy of ancient Greece and Rome with the philosophical precepts of the revolution. “The general attitude toward life of an artist such as Gericault contrasted sharply with that of the whole preceding generation of the Revolution and differed as much from David’s principle-studded morality as from Prudhon’s dreaming” (Friedlaender, 93). The painters of the Romantic movement opened new vistas of perspective, new ways of viewing the world that flowed from the explosive energy of the French revolution and strained against the limitations imposed by the Industrial revolution. Nature is a hovering presence over it all, evincing a sense of mystery and grandeur. The masters of the Romantic period brought together color, expressiveness, emotionalism and nationalism in ways that broke through Neo-Classical simplicity. The significance of the Romantics’ breakthrough can be seen in their bold brush strokes, free use of color and transcendent themes. The Industrial Revolution – Change and consequence The development of new modes of productivity, aimed at making the most of available natural resources, provided the onus for the English Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. Romanticism to Post-Modernism 8 “Technological improvements in coal mining and iron casting began to lay the foundations for the Industrial Revolution…” (Cunningham and Reich, 418). From a philosophical standpoint, the writings of the English Parliamentarian David Ricardo awakened the country’s politicians and businessmen to the possibilities inherent in economies of scale, in mass production and the long-term benefits of employment to a massive work force. His Principles of Political Economy and Taxation changed the way England thought of labor and productivity and is thought by some to have been more influential than the philosophies of the greatest early economists. “It may be truly said that David Ricardo has produced a greater effect even than Adam Smith on the actual practice of men as well as on the theoretical consideration of social problems” (Toynbee and Jowett, 127). Another factor in the growth of industrialization was the burgeoning populations of the great cities, which began to witness unprecedented migration from the rural regions during the late 18th century. The massive populations of London, Manchester, Birmingham and the nation’s other industrial centers provided a ready mass labor force. This influx was driven by tremendous growth in the nation’s population. Estimations put England’s population growth rate at about 17 percent in the early 18th century. A century later, census figures (taken in 1801) showed that rate had ballooned to 52 percent (Toynbee and Jowett, 33). By the time the Industrial Revolution reached its apex, it is clear that England’s industrial north had become the engine that made such productivity possible. According to Toynbee and Jowett, the 10 counties north of the Trent held about one-fourth of England’s total population in 1700. By 1881, this Romanticism to Post-Modernism 9 region held more than two-fifths of the total population (Toynbee and Jowett, 34). Population growth also brought increased demand for products. Other factors include export growth, a more plentiful supply of capital (and more efficient capital markets); a greater base of scientific knowledge; stable government and a larger, more efficient system of transport for goods (More, 158). More also cites a period of increased agricultural prosperity, which raised the per capital income throughout England, where “agriculturalists’ demand for services and industrial products supported a network of flourishing towns whose middle class provided another large market for goods and services” (163). This crucial factor “was of fundamental importance to early British industrialization” (More, 163). The consequences of the Industrial Revolution on Western society are profound. Modern ideas of production and labor changed notions of prosperity and standards of living, which reached never-before-seen levels by the advent of the 20th century. Industrial and technological advances placed Western society at the forefront globally in economic, technological and military terms, an important factor given the desperate challenges of the two world wars and the struggles against tyranny and institutionalized racism (i.e. the Third Reich). Negative consequences were the stratification of the classes, greater levels of poverty and the widening gulf between Western societies and the impoverished Third World. Impact of early silent film The invention of motion pictures had a transformative impact on the nature of communication and entertainment. Films (and other electronic means of communication) revolutionized culture in Western society the way “The invention of the printing press and Romanticism to Post-Modernism 10 movable type revolutionized Renaissance culture north and south of the Alps…” (Cunningham and Reich, 332). Film introduced a powerful new medium for storytelling, a new form of illuminated narrative that also created that peculiarly 20th century phenomenon: the fascination with celebrity. Early contributions to the silent film genre used the new medium as a means to elicit a powerful emotional response. “Film most successfully blended propaganda with attempts at an artistic vision” (Cunningham and Reich, 553). Sergei Eisenstein’s groundbreaking films “Alexander Nevsky” and “Potemkin” drew on seminal events in Russian history to tell stories with patriotic themes and symbolism, using the powerfully emotive techniques of film. In America, D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation was a propaganda film that exploited racial prejudice in glorifying the American South and the cause of the Confederacy. Charlie Chaplin also produced a propaganda film during World War I to aid the Allied war effort. Early silent films were something of a multimedia form of expression, with live music, usually a pianist, organist or musical ensemble accompanist, adding to the action on screen. The effect on early audiences was one of spectacle, an event that offered a sensual experience the likes of which had never been seen. The sheer overwhelming power of silent films made cultural icons of actors like Chaplin, Lillian Gish, Greta Garbo and Rudolph Valentino. Evaluate the significance of the major cultural trends and themes of the twentieth century. The avant-garde movement of the 20th century was significant for its opposition to traditional modes of artistic expression that pushed “the boundaries of what is considered normal and acceptable” (Cunningham and Reich, 603). But within the larger framework of the 20th Romanticism to Post-Modernism 11 century, the avant-garde movement may be seen as far more than part of a natural progression of artistic sensibilities. For many, “it (involved) a rediscovery and reevaluation, in the context of contemporary awareness, of buried myths and insights” (Ruhrberg, Honnef, Fricke, Schneckenburg, & Walther, 362). Seen in this light, it hailed the onset of a “new and more humane world in which the powers of the imagination, as opposed to sterile rationality, are again given their due” (Ruhrberg, et al., 362). This “rediscovery and reevaluation” gained expression in the works of artists such as Andy Warhol, whose artistic insights offered a fresh perspective on the modern aesthetic. This “pop art,” incorporated elements from the “mass media and fad culture” (Cunningham and Reich, 619). The post-Modernist ethic reflected the bewildering change of pace that marked 20th century society, in which media, new technologies, the threat of nuclear war and widespread social upheaval seemed to threaten the fabric of civilization itself. Post-modernism expressed angst over a world that seemed to have lost its cultural and moral compass. Post-modernist art seemed to offer a “contemporary point of view from which there is no central organizing principle, aesthetic or hierarchy” (Cunningham and Reich, 619). For post-modernists, the world they saw was a matter of subjective reality. “Just as a text will be read differently by each reader, they said, so reality will be ‘read’ differently by each knowing self that encounters it. This means that there is no one meaning of the world, no transcendent center to reality as a whole” (Grenz, 6). The underpinnings of post-modernism can be found in the Dadaist school, an early-20th Romanticism to Post-Modernism 12 century form that adopted an anarchist view which regarded the modern world as vacuous and meaningless. As a thoroughly negative response to the bourgeois decadence of modern civilization and art, Dadaism gave form to the cynicism that grew from the waste and carnage of World War I, a cynicism that shunned intellectual attempts to explain what had happened. The tragedy of the Great War had “made it possible for artists, in so far as they were committed and felt responsibility, to escape into philosophy, because the war had made all big words and resounding phrases seem suspect. The only possible reaction was a radical one” (Ruhrberg, et al., 119). It is easy to understand a radical reaction to the horrors of 20th-century life, and to the overwhelming presence of imagery which daily inundates the populace through the mass media. In the second half of the 20th century, the power of television has changed not only the way people receive information but the way in which they perceive and interpret symbols and images. This cultural development and, to a lesser extent, other modes of mass communication have transformed the way people live. “We are bombarded with examples of graphic art (television commercials, magazine ads, CD jackets, displays in stores) every day…” (Cunningham and Reich, xvii). The frantic pace of social, cultural and technological change in the 20th century has brought about a sea change in the way modern societies perceive art in both form and function. Radical change has caused artists, in all mediums, to feel set adrift from the traditional psychological anchors of time and place: an inevitable effect of a lost sense of permanence and Romanticism to Post-Modernism 13 continuity. The significance of modern art lies in the voice it gives to the desperation and sheer fatalism felt by artists who find the conventions of the past inadequate to the task of expressing the new aesthetic. Romanticism to Post-Modernism 14 References Cunningham, L.S., and Reich, J.J. (2006). Culture and Values, Vol. 2. Boston, MA: Wadsworth. xvii, 332, 418-493, 553, 603-619. Friedlaender, W.F. (1952). David to Delacroix. Boston, MA: President and Fellows of Harvard College. 93. Grenz, S. (1996). A Primer on Postmodernism. Grand Rapids,MI: Wm. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 6. Grossman, L. (2009, August 29). Good Books Don’t Have to be Hard. Wall Street Journal. (Web.) Honour, H. (1979). Romanticism. New York: Westview Press. 24-25. More, C. (2000). Understanding the Industrial Revolution. New York: Routledge. 158-163. Ruhrberg, K., Honnef, K., Fricke, C., Schneckenburg, M., and Walther, I.F. (2000). Art of the 20th Century (Part1). Los Angeles, CA: Taschen. 119, 362. Stewart, W.K. (1978). Time Structure in Drama: Goethe’s Sturm und Drang Plays. Amsterdam: Editions Rodopi N.V. 277. Toynbee A., and Jowett, B. (1884). Lectures on the Industrial Revolution in England: Popular Addresses and Notes and Other Fragments. London: Rivingtons. 33-34, 127. Read More