FREEDOM OF ART!

Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s influenced the rise of Romanticism and in the opening line of his book a “Social Contract” he captured the fundamental idea of Romanticism stating, “Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains!” Romanticism materialized from a desire of freedom-freedom of thought, feeling, action, religion, belief, speech, art, creativity, and sexuality. The followers of Romanticism believed that freedom was through the imagination rather than reason and function through feeling rather than thinking. Even though Rousseau is considered to be the “prophet of Romanticism” he did not consider himself as such; the term later originated from a German literary critic who admired the “modern” traits that contrasted with the Neoclassicism traits.

There was a strong interest in feeling, intuition, and subjective emotion. Romanticism brought back the interest in the medieval period, the darkness, and the sublime. Edmund Burke a British politician and philosopher published a book called “Philosophical Enquiry into the Origins of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful.” In this book Burke gives the definition of sublime-a feeling of awe mixed with terror. The Romanticism imagination opened up a whole world of expression including: ghoulish, infernal, terrible, grotesque, sadistic, and the nightmarish.

(Below) Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare captures the essence of the nightmare and specializes in horror and dark fantasies. Fuseli was largely self-taught he developed a unique manner that expresses the visions in his vivid imagination. A beautiful woman lies in a provocative position with a demonic incubus that is believed to prey on women often sexually in their sleep. The word nightmare comes from the words night and mara. Mara was a spirit from Greek mythology that took the breath out of the sleepers. This painting shows the characteristics of Romanticism through subject, the dark contrast of light and shadow, and the symbolism that is represented in this piece.

Another example of a Romantic Artist is William Blake (Top Right), his paintings and poems were strongly influenced by his imagination and dreams. He had very unique style and he combined his love of the ideal classical anatomy with the inner darkness of Romanticism. Blake is known as “a man of the modern age” because of his independence and individual style many years before the Modern Era took place.

To me the Romanticism is almost a “Hodge-podge” of subjects, form, and has a very manneristic style. The artists expressed the inner most thoughts and feelings, the paintings show a twisted reality but it some ways it’s more realistic. Romanticism is filled with Exotic and Erotic images, and fictional narratives. With such a strong emphasis on freedom of imagination not reason, and strong feelings; the artist weren’t afraid to be dark or be open with expression. They truly were feeling the FREEDOM OF ART!