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Part I · Art movements · Chapter 6 of 31

Romanticism

c. 1790–1850. Romantic painters valued feeling over reason: the sublime power of nature, storms, shipwrecks, revolution and the lonely individual facing something vast.

The Third of May 1808 by Francisco Goya◎ notes
The Third of May 1808, Francisco Goya (1814). Oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich◎ notes
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, Caspar David Friedrich (c. 1817–1818). Oil on canvas. Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
The Hay Wain by John Constable◎ notes
The Hay Wain, John Constable (1821). Oil on canvas. The National Gallery, London. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Context

The Industrial Revolution and the upheavals after the French Revolution made artists look to wild nature, history and emotion.

In Britain, Turner and Constable transformed landscape painting — Turner through light and atmosphere, Constable through the direct study of skies and the English countryside.

In France, Géricault and Delacroix painted contemporary events with dramatic colour and movement; in Germany, Caspar David Friedrich made quiet, spiritual landscapes; in Spain, Goya recorded the horrors of war.

Key artists

ArtistLifeKnown for
Francisco Goya1746–1828Court painter turned witness to war: The Third of May 1808.
J. M. W. Turner1775–1851Light, weather and speed: The Fighting Temeraire.
John Constable1776–1837Fresh skies and the English countryside: The Hay Wain.
Caspar David Friedrich1774–1840Spiritual landscapes: Wanderer above the Sea of Fog.
Théodore Géricault1791–1824The Raft of the Medusa.
Eugène Delacroix1798–1863Colour and movement: Liberty Leading the People.
Thomas Cole1801–1848Founder of the Hudson River School: The Oxbow.

Key works

Tap any image to zoom; works marked ◎ have notes on key details.

Flatford Mill by John Constable
Flatford Mill, John Constable (1816–1817). Oil on canvas. Tate Britain, London. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
The Fighting Temeraire by J. M. W. Turner◎ notes
The Fighting Temeraire, J. M. W. Turner (1839). Oil on canvas. The National Gallery, London. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Rain, Steam and Speed by J. M. W. Turner
Rain, Steam and Speed, J. M. W. Turner (1844). Oil on canvas. The National Gallery, London. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Snow Storm: Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth by J. M. W. Turner
Snow Storm: Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth, J. M. W. Turner (1842). Oil on canvas. Tate Britain, London. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix◎ notes
Liberty Leading the People, Eugène Delacroix (1830). Oil on canvas. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault◎ notes
The Raft of the Medusa, Théodore Géricault (1818–1819). Oil on canvas. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Watson and the Shark by John Singleton Copley
Watson and the Shark, John Singleton Copley (1778). Oil on canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
The Oxbow by Thomas Cole
The Oxbow, Thomas Cole (1836). Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Techniques

  • Expressive, visible brushwork and dramatic light.
  • Oil sketches painted outdoors (Constable's cloud studies).
  • Scumbling — dragging opaque, light paint thinly over a darker layer — for atmosphere (Turner).
  • Watercolour elevated to a major medium (Turner).
  • Colour contrast and complementaries to excite the eye (Delacroix).
  • Diagonal, swirling compositions; the figure seen from behind (Friedrich).

How to paint in this style

  1. Pick a subject that carries a feeling: a storm, a sunset, a lone figure, a ruin.
  2. Make several small oil or watercolour sketches outdoors to capture the light quickly.
  3. Compose with a strong diagonal or vortex that pulls the eye into the picture.
  4. Lay in big masses of warm light and cool shadow; let the sky dominate.
  5. Scumble light, broken colour over dark areas to make mist, spray and haze.
  6. Add flecks of pure white or yellow for sparkle (Constable's 'snow').
Typical palette

Lead white, chrome yellow (new around 1814), Naples yellow, vermilion, madder lake, ultramarine, cobalt blue, emerald green, earths and bone black.

Drawings and studies

Self-Portrait by Goya
Self-Portrait, Goya (ca. 1796). Brush and point of brush, carbon black ink. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 (Met Open Access)
Studies of Horses, Hands, and Feet by Eugène Delacroix
Studies of Horses, Hands, and Feet, Eugène Delacroix (ca. 1822–27). Pen and brown and iron gall ink (recto); graphite, pen and iron gall ink, brush and brown wash (verso). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 (Met Open Access)
Study of a Horse by Eugène Delacroix
Study of a Horse, Eugène Delacroix (ca. 1824–29). Brush and brown and black wash over graphite. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 (Met Open Access)
The Fort of L'Esseillon, Val de la Maurienne, France by Joseph Mallord William Turner
The Fort of L'Esseillon, Val de la Maurienne, France, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1835–36). Watercolor. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 (Met Open Access)

Watch

Art historical analysis (painting), a basic introduction using Goya's Third of May, 1808 · Smarthistory

Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People · Smarthistory

Gericault, Raft of the Medusa · Smarthistory

Turner, Rain, steam, and speed – the great western railway · Smarthistory

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See all Romanticism works in the gallery →