The Introduction
Description - The Romantic period was a time of artistic pieces guided by emotions. Landscapes from that time tend to encapture emotions related to and the unpredictability of nature. The paintings that make up this personal museum are from the Romantic period and are, as the title suggests, landscapes. For some context of these upcoming paintings, the Romantic period is between 1789 and 1850, but some of the pieces are a little outside of this time. Despite this, I added them in because they still contain romantic elements that match the theme of romantic landscapes as described before.
Statement - I want my viewers to view life differently, as beautiful and widely unpredictable. I'd like the visitors to leave finding an artwork they connected with, or that really caught their eye. I want them to hold onto the idea that art can inspire emotions in its viewers. Overall, I just hope they find some beauty in the pieces I'm presenting like I did.
Natural Disasters
The Romantic period aimed to depict drama and strong emotions with their imaginative landscapes. Disasters in our world do just that: eliciting terror and awe in all. These next artworks are all going to depict some sort of disaster, as explained by the title, and is why they are all grouped together. The artworks in this room include View of Vesuvius from Portici, The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, The Fifth Plague of Egypt, and The Shipwreck.
View of Vesuvius from Portici (1774) by Joseph Wright
CONTEXT - (Context) Wright was known as a Romantic artist, and this is a painting of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, a really well known natural disaster in history. Some general context of this painting is that many artists of the Romantic period sought inspiration from this famous historical disaster of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The dramatic depiction and beauty in destruction is often associated with the Romantic period, which also could’ve had an influence on Wright’s works as a painter. On the topic of specific context, View of Vesuvius from Portici was created by Joseph Wright from a sketch he made of the volcano while visiting Naples in 1774. He was fascinated by the destructive power and awesome beauty of Mt. Vesuvius, and he had a perfect view of the debris caused by the eruption to let his imagination run wild. He took a lot of inspiration from Volaire too, who happened to be at Naples around the same time as Wright (around the 1770s).
The Burning of the Houses of Parliament (1834) by J.M.W Turner
CONTEXT - Fires, although this one may not be natural, are generally considered Natural Disasters. Joseph Mallord William Turner’s painting, The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, contains a lot of imagination of the destructive power of fire making it a romantic landscape. Some general context may be that this painting is based off of a true event, or perhaps might be based off of an event described by a religion. Some specific context may be that Turner went to the place depicted, and although may have not been there for the fire itself, could’ve painted it based on the aftermath of the fire. Turner travelled a lot and spent some time in Italy, so it may be based off of a location in Italy.
The Fifth Plague of Egypt (1800) by J.M.W Turner
CONTEXT - Plagues are a type of natural disaster, and something that can be very grotesque. It’s filled with drama, terror, and many other strong emotions that can make this painting romantic in nature. The general context of this painting may be that The Fifth Plague of Egypt is inspired by mythology. The Romantic era could have influenced him as well, allowing him to search for inspiration within mythological contexts to bring out drama and emotion in his painting. Some more specific context might be that this piece was inspired by Turner on his travels to Egypt.
The Shipwreck (1805) by J.M.W Turner
CONTENT - When anyone thinks of romantic landscapes, they think of rough waters and shipwrecks. Storms are a part of nature, and the horrors of shipwrecks can easily be associated with the Romantic period. The subject matter is a shipwreck: the destroyed masses, lifeboat, the characters trying to survive the storm, the harsh waves, and ominous storm clouds. There is a streak of light, among the mountains, which could be a symbol for the small yet prevalent hope for survival. The overall message of this work would be that nature is unpredictable and dangerous.
Heavenly Landscapes
The Romantic era was guided by emotions. Although disasters are usually the main subject of romantic landscapes, artists also liked to depict the immortalized beauty of nature. A lot of artists of this era depicted their landscapes as heavenly to do just this. The next few artist’s pieces all have a heavenly feel: using warm colors, blurring, and light to enhance the beauty of their landscape pieces. The artworks in this room include Venice from the Porch of Madonna della Salute, Ancient Rome Agrippina with the Ashes, Arkona with Moon Rising, and Matlock Tor by Daylight.
Venice, from the Porch of Madonna della Salute (1835) by J.M.W Turner
FORM - The bright colors and the way subjects in the painting fade into the background gives a really heavenly nature to this painting, and creates positive emotions in the viewer with its beauty. All of this is why it belongs in the room of heavenly landscapes as a romantic piece. Turner uses atmospheric perspective and diminution to create depth in his piece, as well as overlap. The color palette is bright, and mainly warm colors. There is an implied triangle shape which is created between the raft on the left, the gondolas on the right, and the tip of the mass of the ship in the middle of those two subjects. The lighting throughout the painting is mostly high key, as the painting seems to glow brightly except for the shadows underneath the ships.
Ancient Rome; Agrippina with the Ashes of Germanicus (1839) by J.M.W. Turner
FORM - J.M.W. Turner associated Rome with heaven and tried to capture that in his art, especially in this piece. Turner is a well known Romantic painter as well, which is why this piece belongs in this room and museum. This piece uses atmospheric perspective and diminution as well to create a sense of depth, as most of the background subjects in the painting blend in with the sky and sunlight. The sunlight seems to be coming down in diagonal lines from the top right to the bottom left. All aspects of the painting seem to be lit up by the golden hue of these sunrays. The focal point of this painting seems to be the bridge down the center, as it has the most detail and is emphasized from contrast through its cold tone colors compared to the rest of the warm colored objects in the painting.
View of Arkona with Moon Rising (1805-1806) by Caspar David Friedrich
FORM - Although darker in color, this painting by David Friedrich has a similar brightness and heavenly greatness of natural light to the paintings in the rest of the room. This piece uses atmospheric perspective to create depth, but also a lot of overlapping. The clouds seem to be layered, reaching towards the moon far away on the horizon. The earth seems very coarse and rough due to the way the rocks, dirt, and trees were painted. The ripples of the water also create an implied texture, the fluidity contrasting with the roughness of the rocks. The moonlight creates an implied line, stretching across the ocean until it touches the dark land.
Matlock Tor by Daylight (1780) by Joseph Wright
FORM - Like the other pieces in this room, the sunlight creates a heavenly feel, and inspires positive emotions of nostalgia in the viewers. This is a strong and beautiful emotion, and is then associated with the Romantic period. This piece also uses atmospheric perspective to create depth, as well as overlapping and diminution. The sunlight has rays of diagonal lines stretching out from it, beyond the clouds. The vegetation has a fuzzy implied texture. The sun’s yellow hue leaks onto the edges of the leaves of the tree on the left and the cliff face on the right. Due to the sunlight’s yellow, the painting is mostly a warm color palette.
Beautiful Mysteries
Romantic artists really loved to depict mystery in their art. They had a fascination in the unknown, and such mysterious depictions in their pieces helped elicit that fascination in their viewers. These next few pieces have mysterious aspects to them either depicting death, a disaster brewing, or the after effects of a disaster of some sort. The artworks include Mediterranean Coastal Scene, Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, Abbey in the Oakwood, The Polar Sea, and Fishermen at Sea.
Mediterranean Coastal Scene (1765-1770) by Pierre-Jacques Volaire
CONTENT - This painting by Volaire is a little bit outside of the Romantic period, much like some of Wright’s works, but it still has those dramatic aspects associated with art. What makes this painting so mysterious and ominous is the mountain smoking in the background as well as the apparent carelessness of the situation by people at the campsite, which is why it’s in this room. The subject matter includes the clouds, volcano, ships, people, campsite, and the land the people are on. The campfire seems to be foreshadowing the eventual eruption of the volcano in the distance, as it’s made up of fire and smoke and the volcano in the distance has smoke. The shadow of the person created from the light of the fire, consumed by the orange light, symbolizes death that will soon befall the people at the campsite. The overall meaning may be how death can befall people when they least expect it, as the people don’t seem to notice the smoke coming from the volcano in the distance.
Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831) by John Constable
CONTEXT - The clouds in this painting by John Constable are very ominous and overbearing, which creates a lot of mystery of why the sky was done in such a way and what is so threatening about the church. For general context, John Constable lived in England during the time the Church had political powers. Although it’s usually depicted people liked the Church’s sudden increase in political power, many people including John Constable believed the Church shouldn’t have a place in England’s government. This may be why the clouds look so threatening, and the cathedral looks so ominous, shrouded by the darkness of the clouds. Some specific context regards how Constable drew this piece: he drew the Salisbury Cathedral from multiple vantage points to see where he’d have a perfect angle for what he had in mind, before settling on this angle finally. He has many earlier paintings of this place due to this, even another from this angle that isn't as polished.
Abbey in the Oakwood (1809-1810) by Caspar David Friedrich
CONTEXT - The mystery of the gate in the middle of nowhere, and the shadows among the graves makes this a perfect romantic landscape for this room. Some specific context on this piece is that David Friedrich has used symbols for Christianity in his other pieces that may have influenced this one. The graves could also be significant to the artist in a way, either by their personal culture or by knowing someone that may be buried at the gravesite. Some general context is how the Romantic period influenced his art, the dead trees, ruins, and dramatic lighting are all details associated with the Romantic period.
The Polar Sea (1823-1824) by Caspar David Friedrich
CONTENT - This painting appears to be a sheet of ice, shattered by some sort of interruption. The splinters of wood make it seem like a shipwreck, but raises many questions and is why it belongs with the rest of the pieces in this museum room. The subject matter is the ice shattered and layered, along with the splinters of wood underneath. The ice and the wood splinter together, as if the wood may have been from a ship that crashed into the ice, causing them both to break. There’s multiple crashes into this sea of ice as it seems, which gives a secondary meaning that this place may be prone to shipwrecks. There is an uneasy feeling created from the depiction of blood staining the ice and possible littered limbs. Gathering meaning from form that is implied by the intensity of light and redness of blood, the closest shipwreck must be the most recent atrocity in this sea of ice.
Fishermen at Sea (1796) by J.M.W Turner
CONTENT - This is another piece that raises questions, and also another one by Turner, making it perfect for this room and museum. The ominous shadows in the background, the unsettled water, the actions of the people that are almost just silhouettes, and the shrouded moon all raise questions about a storm that is about to start or end. The subject matter is exactly those things: the characters on the boat (fishermen), the unsettled sea, the clouds, and the moon. The light breaking through the shrouded darkness of clouds is an allegory of peace among chaos, as it represents the eye of the storm. Something that stands out is the blueness of the sea as the light reflects off of it, and the ominous shadows in the background. They seem to create a feeling of dread. The overall message of this painting is peace within chaos as the threatening factors of the image contrast against the hopefulness created by the fishermen and light from the moon.
The End
I hope you, the visitor, felt feelings of terror, awe, and curiosity as you examined the artworks in this museum. This museum is supposed to influence your ideas of nature: its unexpected disasters, grandiose beauty, and mysterious adventures. I hope this immersive experience of viewing Romantic landscapes inspired you to see the beauty around you and to explore the curiousness of life and nature itself.
Credits:
Created with an image by moreidea - "Colorful burning clouds in heaven and birds flaying"