Discuss the trend of 18th-century Romanticism and give examples of the stylistic characteristics, selecting an artist and his or her artwork as an example. Consider how European and American artists differed in their approach to Romanticism.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Romanticism was not so much a style as a set of attitudes and characteristic subjects. The 18th century is sometimes known as the Age of Reason for its leading thinkers placed their faith in rationality, skeptical questioning, and scientific inquiry. Rebelling against those ideas, Romanticism urged the claims of emotion, intuition, individual experience, and the imagination. Romantic artists gloried in mysterious or awe-inspiring landscapes, picturesque ruins, extreme events, and exotic cultures. Eugene Delacroix, the leading painter of the Romantic movement, was fascinated by the exotic cultures of North Africa and created numerous paintings depicting scenes that were part of this "Oriental" realm. American Romantic artists concentrated on the landscapes around them, carrying an almost mystical reverence for the natural beauty of the unspoiled land itself.