History of art picks: German Romanticism
Hello to all the lovely creatures out there!
In today's post we are back with another art movement! Today we'll be talking about German Romanticism!
As you can already tell it's a more specific art movement from previous movements we have talked about, but German Romanticism has played an enormous role in the general art world inlfuencing tremendously the art histort as we know it or are aware of it today.
German Rpmanticism (in German: Deutsche Romantik) was a dominant intellectual movement of German speaking countries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The early German Romantics strove to create a new synthesis of art by viewing the Middle Ages as a simpler period of intergrated culture while lat-stage German Romanticism emphasized the tension between the daily world and the irrational and supernatural projections of creative genius.
Despite having "romance" as its roots, Romanticism does not necessarily have to do with love or romance. During the 18th century, "romantic" in English and German, meant poetic, fanciful or fantastic, usually though with a genative connotation. A romantic person was detached from society and modernity, who lost themselves in thoughyt and was prone to emotional chaos. German Romanticism began as a revolt against an increasingly industrialized society.
_-_Caspar_David_Friedrich_(Galerie_Neue_Meister,_Dresden).jpg)
For German Romanticists, turning to the past was significantly tied with turning to nature. Nature meant quiet and peace and represented the time when humanity was not yet constrained by capitalism and its norms. Interestingly, nature can be depicted both as idyllic and peaceful, as well as tumultuous and terrifying. Often, nature reflects the inner life of the artist or the main character: it is tumultuous and storring when the subject's own emotions are n a similar state. In a way, nature in German Romantic art is often a window into the artist's own emotions.
German Romanticism valued sublimity and emotion, it is rather intense and stirring. The sublime provoked strong emotions in the subject, and sublime art expressed the inner tumult of the artist. The goals for German Romantic painters was to create stirring, intense, and sometimes shocking paintings that had the capacity to profoundly move the viewer. According to German Romanticists, paintings should rouse viewers and stimulate their emotions, causing a reaction that reason cannot explain.
German Romanticism reminds us that art is not only about what we see, but about what we feel. By turning to nature, emotion, and the sublime, German Romantic artists created works that still resonate deeply today, offering a glimpse into the inner world of the artist and the tensions of their time. It’s fascinating to see how this movement shaped the way we understand emotion, individuality, and artistic expression, and how its influence continues to echo through art history. Hopefully, this gave you a moment to pause and look a little closer at German Romanticism—and appreciate just how powerful and moving it truly is.
As always thank you for reading and I will see you in a next post,
xoxoxo
Comments
Post a Comment