classicism vs. romanticism

CLASSICISM v. ROMANTICISM

CLASSICISM • Fueled by Enlightenment’s belief in rationality, order, and restraint • Intellectual outgrowth of the scientific revolution • Believed in the idea of human progress, liberalism, and equality • Used skepticism and reason about all aspects of life

CLASSICISM • Believed the ancient Greeks and Romans developed eternal aesthetic rules • Could enforce rules in the 18th century because dominated courts and academies where artists worked • Artists focused on writing (philosophes) elegant and intellectual treatises • Nature was of no particular interest, considered beautiful and chaste like a formal garden

CLASSICISM • Industry is a sign of human progress, a triumph of reason over nature • History is considered a minor branch of philosophy – used by philosophers to pick suitable examples to illustrate their teachings • Universe is mechanical and static (clock metaphor)

ROMANTICISM • Crystallized in 1790s in Germany and England; strong influence until the 1840s • Disillusioned with events in France and turned from liberalism to conservativism in politics  French Revolution kindled the belief that radical reconstruction was possible –applied to cultural and artistic life

ROMANTICISM

• Emotional exuberance • Unrestrained imagination • Spontaneity in art and personal life

ROMANTICISM • Many artists lived lives of emotional intensity – Suicide – Duels – Madness – Strange illnesses – Bohemian lives – Rejected materialism

ROMANTICISM  Believed the full development of one’s unique human potential to be the supreme purpose in life

ROMANTICISM • Nature – enchanting – awesome and tempestuous – spiritual inspiration

ROMANTICISM • Industry – Ugly – a brutal attack on nature and human personality – the evil genius of Satan – Sought to escape industrial life

ROMANTICISM • History – Beautiful, exciting, became a passion of many – Supported the development of national aspirations (a dominant theme of the 19th C) – Encouraged entire peoples to seek in their past their special destinies The Bard" by John Martin: a romantic vision of a single Welsh bard escaping a massacre ordered by Edward I of England, intended to destroy Welsh culture

ROMANTICISM • Universe – unlimited – Organic – dynamic

• Yearned for the unattained, the unknown, the unknowable