Romantic Art

The Romantic Era started during the 1850's and ended in the mid-90's. The romactic era emphasized nature and the natural aspects of humans. Trancedentalists like Thoreau and Emerson complained about modern life. They believed that people should live according to nature and they wanted people to live simply. Trancedentalists thought that technology hindered mankind and deveated them from nature. They wanted people to live of the land and in solitude. I think that they just didn't like people. Since the romantic era was so long, there isn't really just one idea or even behind it. Well, there was one idea, but it was just the force behind the movement, not what started it. However, the time around which this period spawned trancedentalists was the industrial revolution, the early 1900's. During this time, machines, powered by steam and later electricity and gasoline/oil, became used. Machines like the car helped to replace horses, especially in the 20's where cars were sold on installment. Cars let people live further away from their jobs and allowed them to travel over long distances in private. Inventions like the vacuum cleaner, iron, and the lightbulb all became norms used to help with chores and increase leisure time. Now people had more time to do other things. And this time became a driving force in trancedentalism. People no longer had a simple wake up-go to work-come home routine. Now people had time to do many other things they wanted to do. Trancendentalists felt that this time was a bad thing to society and complicated peoples lives. Also they believed that this was all unnatural so we should all revert back and forget all these luxuries. Sadly much of the Romantic period is mostly based in literature so I can't really find a good american romantic painting. However, here is one just for the heck of it:

     Liberty Leading the People (1830)

Eugène Delacroix

Although the Romantic I was talking of was the American Romantic, this painting is part of the earlier European romantic.