Nature, Emotions and Romantic Art - Essay Example

Romantic Art During the romantic art era in Europe, man reacted to the age of reason and knowledge through the artistic depiction of different events. As a result, this form of art was used as the dominant way of expressing the ideas and emotions of the people. Though a number of artistic approaches existed during this period, painting was the most dominant of them all. Romantic art was majorly based on subjectivity and the numerous numbers of paintings that were available demonstrated this. Romanticism was considered as the only way through individual creativity of artists during this time could be celebrated. In most instances, romantic artists were distinct due to their wild, serene and beyond human control abilities1. However, emotions during this period were exaggerated and this is depicted in the nature of the paintings. In most instances, romantic art was filled of melancholy, despair and a hope of belonging to a particular setting. Apart from the emotionally filled work, romantic art was also done from an individualistic approach in which the issue if academic literature was not given consideration2. Nature and romantic art Alluring naturalist artistic expressions were common during the romanticism era to create a strong romantic spirit among the people. As a result, scenic vistas, bucolic meadows among other field retreat drawings dominated the romantic artistic painting and drawings. Among the landscapers of this era, their work provided them with an opportunity to express their talents through the depiction of the beauty of nature and the immediate surroundings of the people. In most instances, this expression was done as a direct revolt from the old aristocratic painting and artwork that was refined to symmetry and formal gardens3. In the minds of the romanticists such as Joseph Mallard William Turner, nature provided a liberating force and an inherent source of sensual happiness and inspiration for their artwork. As a result, their work was based on extolled mystical abilities of Mother Nature and provided ground upon which more refined ways of gardening and landscaping was developed. Romantic Movement has been judged based on the nature of manuscripts and drawings that are found during this period and this success is attributed to the contribution of the artists. Romantic art dominated Europe and led to the development of an occult like following in which members followed a specific set of codes and rules. In most instances, the nature of landscaping during the romantic era was meant to express high reverence for nature and beauty ideals. This was apparently present in most garden designs of this period and followed the principle that was later developed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. For example, the moonlit landscape has for long been used to demonstrate the level of romanticism during this era and how painting was the best way of passing the information4. Apart from mallard, john constable was the second artist that used landscape to depict the romanticism art during the romantic revolution. Constable’s work was motivated by Gainsborough and occurred after he gained experience from the traditional picturesque painting approaches. Constable sought to represent the beautiful English scenery through landscape paintings and drawings and this contributed towards the modification of attitude of other romantic landscapers that followed him. Constable deviated from the pictorial convention that was dominant among the 18th century painters and instead worked towards romanticism through scenery paintings5. This created room for significantly influencing the way people viewed nature and the role that it thereafter played in influencing their desire to interact with it to express romantic feelings. According to many 19th and 20th century artists, constable is a transitional figure that ignored the Dutch painting approach to adopt the landscape as a way of depicting romanticism. Though the paintings of Casper David are also majorly landscape in nature, constable work is distinguishable due to the romantic touch that he provided in his work. Through his painting, constable transformed the way people viewed nature and this led to the revelation of its inner values and the demonstration of the deepest emotions of the people. Through his landscape paintings for the romanticism era, john constable provided a room through which the feelings of man can be adequately examined6. Due to the influence of romanticism art and more specifically scenic works of mallard and constable, countries like New Zealand were discovered. The great mountains and terrains of New Zealand were discovered through the landscape and scenic drawings that were exhibited in English museum from the 20th century. In Britain, the industrial revolution changes a number of areas into towns and urban centres. However, other regions like the Scottish island and the European Alps remained untouched and the romanticism paintings of constable and other artists involved great nostalgic feeling among the people which led to the emergence of domestic tourism7. Emotions and romantic art Apart from romance, romantic art was also used to invoke and create strong emotions in people from different backgrounds. Based on the analysis of gothic romance, art was the basis for the generation of strong and irrational emotional feelings in people. Despite opposition from Voltaire, gothic artists used painting and other arts to induce strong irrational feelings that would horrify and amaze in equal measure. Such romantic work is believed to have been inspired by enlightenment as demonstrated by the work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Though Voltaire and his school of thought have argued that emotionalism in the romantic era was exaggerated, there is compelling evidence that it controlled significant genuine and inspiring information of the romanticism movement. However, the romantics celebration a number of emotions in their artistic works, love came out so strong which make it the main theme in the art work of this era. Despite the fact that most of this category of work concentrated on the issue of terror and rage, love was also a dominant theme. The fact that the romantic era emotional painting focused on the relationship between two pairs cannot go unnoticed. According to the Dixon genealogy captured in romanticism and emotions, the revolutions and changes that occurred during this era are critical in the evolution of emotion8. This is because romanticism has contributed to the growth in awareness of the centrality notion and experiences which is critical in the development of emotions. Though current artistic work have focused on providing fresh direction on the topic of emotion, previous studies during the 18th century clearly provided a link between romanticism and the development of emotions. According to the Brooklyn College English department, the feeling and individual imagination that developed during the period of the revolution significantly shaped the development of human emotions. For example, the work of henry David Thoreau focused on the role that emotions play in shaping our interaction with nature and the people around us through love9. Romanticism revolution also glorified nature by stirring human emotions and the relationship between human beings. By presenting emotions using nature objects, the romantics work mildly criticized the approach that was adopted by the 18th century philosophers. The romantic revolution was also guided by specific principles that are distinct from those used today by philosophers. For example, while modern day philosophical discourse praises imagination and logic, the romantic art era was considerate of reason and emotions. Intuition and the development of strong passion among people who are attracted towards each other through a romantic attraction is also given much consideration based on the emotional angle of romanticism. Reason and romanticism The era of enlightenment or reason reflects a time when the attitude of people towards different life matters changed significantly. During this area, the strong sentiments that existed towards faith and reason during the romanticism revolution were relaxed as science; math and logic become the centres of attraction and focus. It is believed that the era of enlightenment occurred during the 15-16th century during which the French revolution occurred. However, the emergence of the romanticism era and revolution overshadowed this period and gave room to new ideals. As opposed to reasons, sentiments grew in strength and were depicted majorly through the use of art and painting10. As discussed in the section of emotions, the romanticism era saw a period when feelings and sense were more considered as compared to intellect and reasoning. Though opposed by the French revolutionists, the romanticism revolution provided room for the promotion of specific human virtues inherent in the development and growth of human kind. Based on romanticism, reasoning that was considered supreme during the enlightenment and French revolution era can only be considered in the event that human beings are guided by immoral values. This is attributed to the emergence of national pride and a feeling of supremacy that led to the growth of the French revolution and the unity realized in Germany11. Before Gutenberg developed the printing press, the Cicero’s rhetoric was common in hand written form in Italy and was copied from book to book by the scribes working within the churches. As a result of the introduction of the printing press, a number of book manuscript producers such as Vespasian were forced to close their shops. According to Eisenstein, the discovery of the printing press led to a major mutation in the Italian renaissance movement as information concerning the religious and political leaders was easily spread from one end to the other12. The use of skin and well processed cloths for the transfer of Christian and political knowledge was ineffective as few people were able to access the books. However, the invention of the printing press opened a new chapter, which led to an increase in demand for books and a quick spread of knowledge, which accelerated the renaissance movement13. The educated middle class were able to access the books and such books were reproduced in languages that they could easily understand. Several types of books were produced in large numbers and made available to the middle and the low class who were able to read and write a process that led to a speedy transfer of information from one culture to the other. The increased demand for books in Europe in general and Italy in particular led to the development of the book and paper trade as the demand for reading and printing materials escalated. This led to an increase in the population literacy levels and the development of a stronger economy14. This is because the books led to the spread of new philosophies, which revolved around the discovery of new knowledge and forms of life that were spread by the renaissance scholars. Before the renaissance period, the manuscripts produced by the scribes in churches guided scholars in Europe and this led to the growth of Christian ideologies among the masses15. During the age of reason or enlightenment, the position of reason in governing nature and the action of human beings was highly emphasized. This was based on the belief that reason will always come first before imagination of people. However, romanticism led to the rejection of idealization and the emergence of rational thought in people. Instead, emotions and intuition was given prominence and guided the behaviours of human beings. In this kind of setting, individualistic attitude developed as opposed to communal approach to challenges and situations. The beauty and the mystery of nature of glorified, represented in art and carried in all major building to express feelings, emotions and love. In the face of philosophers, understanding the era of romanticism cannot be complete without discussing the impact the impact it created on the French revolution. Conclusion The romantic art era is believed to have occurred in Britain in the 16-1th century during which reason and science was replaced by emotions and intuition. This period was marked by significant changes that reflected the emphasis that was placed on nature, the feelings of people and their emotions. This period motivated the French revolution of the 17th century due to the creation of an individualistic opinion and attitude, which motivated the people to fight for democratic space and consideration. Bibliography Bainbridge, S. “Politics and Poetry.” The Cambridge Companion to British Literature of the French Revolution in the 1790s. Pamela Clemit, Ed. Cambridge University Press, 2011. Berlin I, Hardy H. The roots of romanticism / Isaiah Berlin; edited by Henry Hardy. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2001. Hart C, OBrien N. The New Romantics: Flaneurs and dandies of the twenty-first century. Metaverse Creativity, 3(1/2): 15-21. Lambertson, J. The Boulevard and the Salon: Popular Theatre and Romanticism in 1824. Nineteenth Century Theatre & Film; 40(1): 1-14. Pasco, A. The incongruity of resuscitated classicism after the French revolution. XVIII: New Perspectives On The Eighteenth Century; 10(1): 38-50. Popkin, J. D. A Short History of the French Revolution. 4th Ed. New Jersey, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. Rasmussen, M. Art, Revolution and Communisation. Third Text; 26(2): 229-242. Rosenthal, L. Romanticism. New York: Parkston Press International; 2008. Russo, S, Napton D, Cousins A. The French Revolution and the British Novel in the Romantic Period. New York: Peter Lang; 2011.  Read More