Romanticism

Looking at Art History in college with Romanticism, and looking over the characteristics of which I learned that the movement didn't fully take off until the end of the 18th Centaury and was mostly popular in Germany. Romanticism was a response to "The Rationalism of the Enlightenment" which was a revolution in society, science, politics and philosophy that spread trough the 1700's. The Rationalism of the Enlightenment was also philosophical term for reason, science, humanism, equality, etc. The general idea that humans are smart, have value and have the train of thought to find things out. The movement was about the artists individual and imagination.

One of the artists we looked at was John Constable, I liked the samples of work we were shown as you can really tell the Romanticism part as the paintings are both very fantasy like.

" The Haywain, 1821"

"Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, 1831"

I liked that they look so simple yet so detailed, What I mean by that is that the subject matter seems like a simple normal day captured on a canvas, but so life like its beautiful. However it's not a painting I'd buy hang on my kitchen wall. as beautiful as it is. The second image I like because it looks like something from a Disney movie with the rainbow over the church. Overall as amazing as this work is I found it really funny because of how unrealistically beautiful the paintings are.

Caspar David Friedrich was another artist we looked at which I completely loved! his paintings are so calm and I can relate to some very easily.

"Two men contemplating the moon, 1819" is by far my favourite piece by him. I'm not sure if it was on the powerpoint we were shown but I remember seeing it somewhere at college and instantly falling in love. I relate to the piece because I have a love for just sitting on hills looking at the sky or at the moon and the stars. 

"Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, 1818"

I like how peaceful this painting is, yet as the man is standing on the edge of a cliff it holds some danger. The fog brings a sense of unknowing which kind of adds to both the peaceful and danger mark.