Romantic Paintings

Compared to neo-classicism paintings, romantic art focuses on emotion, passion, contrast of color, struggle, terror, and morbidity

 

A Monument Belonging to the Capulets, James Northcote (1789)

The oil painting depicts the last scene of William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. Juliet awakens to find her suitor Paris dead, and her lover and husband Romeo also dead. Friar Lawrence tries to get her to leave the tomb with him. The painting mimics the emotion audiences see on stage.

Abbey in an Oak Forest, Casper David Friedrich (1800-1810)

Representing an image of death, this barren snow-covered cemetery shows a somber funeral procession. The unknown exists on the other side of the horizon.

Large Odalisque, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres(1814)

The oil painting shows a Turkish odalisque or concubine whose sensual, exotic nature clearly depicts a new daring attitude in art.

The Third of May, 1808, Francisco Goya (1814) 

The oil painting is a response to the French occupation of Spain and depicts the mass execution of Spanish rebels that occurred on May 3, 1808, near Madrid.

Untitled (Saturn Devouring One of His Children), Francisco Goya (ca. 1819-1823) 

The painting represents Greek Mythology Titan Cronus eating one of his children, in fear of them overthrowing him. It truly depicts the blood and gore theme of the period.

Stormy Coast Scene after a Shipwreck, Horace Vernet (ca. 1825) 

The painting celebrates the awe-inspiring power of nature. The image touches on two familiar romantic themes: violence and being shipwrecked.

Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows,  John Constable (1829-1834) 

The painting represents hope after the death of a young woman in the arms of her lover. Its bold strokes signifies conflict, emotion, life, and death.

The Natchez, Eugène Delacroix (1835) 

The oil painting depicts a young couple escaping the massacre of their tribe, only stopping to deliver their baby. It also represents rebirth and tender love.

The Slave Ship or Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying - Typhoon Coming On, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1840) 

The painting shows dead bodies being thrown in the sea during a typhoon, while exemplifing suffering, tragedy, and horrible inhumanity.