Romanticism

by Hugh Honour

A well-known art historian and critic describes and interprets the art and ideas of the revolutionary known as Romanticism from the late 1790s until the middle of the nineteenth century.The shock of the intellectual and political upheavals of the late eighteenth century was felt throughout the civilized world from the United States to the Russian Empire. No artist was wholly immune to it. The influence of Romanticism--the artist's response to that shock--was all pervasive. As Hugh Honour "To some degree all subsequent Western art derives from it just as all European history since 1789 has been to some extent a consequence of the French Revolution. Romantic ideas about artistic creativity, originality, individuality, authenticity and integrity and the Romantic conception of the meaning and purpose of works of art and the role of the artist continue to dominate aesthetic thought. So deeply are they embedded in our attitudes and ways of thinking that we are rarely aware of them."In fact Romanticism defies definition and classification into a simple formula. There is no romantic style in the visual arts comparable with Baroque or Rococo. There is no single work of art that exemplifies the aims and ideals of the Romantics. Romanticism might also be seen as part of the continuous development from the rejection of the Rococo in the mid-eighteenth century to the emergence of Realism in the mid-nineteenth. And there are elements of Romanticism that seem uncannily modern, such as the large, almost abstract, late paintings by Turner, or the almost "Internationally Modern" buildings by Schinkel.Hugh Honour's highly praised Neo-classicism discussed an earlier artistic revolution. In Romanticism he considers the more momentous one that followed. This penetrating study of a complex and contradictory half-century will be essential reading for an understanding of the Romantic movement.

Genres: Art, Romanticism, History, Nonfiction, Art History, School

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

A self-taught English art historian.

Reviews

[Mattia Colombi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opera senza tempo e saggio obbligatorio per chiunque voglia studiare o approcciarsi all’arte del XIX secolo.

Ps: Einaudi ristampa il libro, per favore.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romanticism in art from late 1790s to the middle of the 19th century. "The shock of the intellectual and political upheaveals of the late 18th century was felt throughout the civilized world from the US to the Russian Empire. No artist was immune to it." Works by Friedrich ( The Wanderer above the Mists), Turner (The Slave Ship), Gericault (Raft of the Medusa), Goya (The Third of May), Ingres, Delacroix (The 28th July: Liberty Leading the People), Cole (A Scene from Byron's Manfred), Gainsborough, Constable (Stonehenge), W. Holman Hunt (Rienzi Vowing to Obtain Justice), Daumier (Don Quixote and Sancho Panza), and last but certainly not least -- Blake (the book of Job).

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rare original-topping sequel. This ups it a notch from Honour's also-great but not as ambitious "Neoclassicism." Honour is delightful company. Especially recommended for literature people like myself interested in expanding their understanding of painting, sculpture, and architecture in the period.

[Thorolf van Walsum · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone with little experience in art history, I positively flew through this book in amazement, revelation and delight. I earnestly believe my conception of history began with the reading of this book.

[Ander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clásico, pero merece la pena volver a él.

[Benito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una de las primeras obras académicas que me hizo pensar seriamente en la creación del concepto de arte y artista como lo concebimos hoy (o quizá ya no). Además de penetrar en uno de los momentos claves de la estructuración del alma occidental y nudo intelectual que explica buena parte del S.XX y su tragedia. Todo ello mientras se describe y documenta meticulosamente la corriente artística y filosófica marginal para sus contemporáneos que centró el siglo XIX.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Romanticism feels like it can't make up its mind who its audience is. Honour follows the style of Landscape and Memory and In Ruins, building thematic arguments with a series of anecdotes about painters, writers, and critics. But he is trying to cover far more ground, and perhaps feels the need to be more inclusive. He provides much less context for his anecdotes, and while a reader familiar with the artists he mentions might find his arguments interesting, it was really hard for me to keep up with his ideas while also orienting myself in the artistic and political milieus he moves between. It is, in short, not the adult-textbook sort of introduction to Romanticism I was looking for. It also does that obnoxious thing where any French quote shorter than two sentences isn't translated. If you didn't expect us to understand it, why did you include it???