Romanticism

Perhaps it is the time of year, when we cozy into our houses, light fires, and snuggle up with a good book, but I always seem to entertain more romantic notions at this time of year.  Romanticism was an artistic movement that spanned the visual arts, music, and literature.  The idea behind the movement was that there was a tangible aesthetic sense that was tied strongly and authentically to emotions.  It looked back into the past and created an idealised view of historical periods, specifically the Medieval period.  This "romanticizing" of the period was a battle against the beginnings of the industrial revolution, urban sprawl, and a spike in population growth.  In art, it manifested itself as a higher valuation of the pastoral and agricultural scenes that started disapearing due to the 3 factors mentioned above.  In music, the period highlighted the composers Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt, and Paganini.  In literature, there was Edgar Allen Poe, Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, John Keats, Jose de Espronceda, William Blake, and Manual Jose Quintana.

One last note, the Romantic movement prized intuition and emotion over the austerity of the Rationalist style of thought, and all three of the branches of this movement were inextricably linked.  Artists painted literary figures, composers created operas and ballets with the whole picture in mind, literary figures looked to ancient art and myths to supplement their writings.