Romanticism
1780–1850The sublime, terrible, emotionally overwhelming. Sensation over reason, nature over civilization.
New industrial pigments — chrome yellow, cobalt blue, viridian. Larger canvases, bolder brushwork.
Francisco Goya
1746–1828Spanish
From court portraitist to painter of nightmares. The Black Paintings — darkest vision in Western art.
Late Black Paintings on plaster with palette knife and fingers. Minimal palette: black, ochre, red, white.
J.M.W. Turner
1775–1851British
Dissolved form into atmosphere, anticipating abstraction by 50 years.
Exploited new industrial pigments. Late works are almost pure light with minimal form.
Eugène Delacroix
1798–1863French
Leader of French Romanticism. Discovered complementary color shadows decades before Impressionists.
Optical color mixing — complementary colors side by side. Journals document systematic experiments.
Caspar David Friedrich
1774–1840German
Painter of sublime loneliness. Rückenfigur — figures facing infinite landscapes.
Restricted palette — cold blues, pale golds, dark silhouettes. Protestant meditation.
John Everett Millais
1829–1896British
Co-founder Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Ophelia — most famous PRB painting, painted outdoors over months.
Wet white ground — paint into fresh white surface. Characteristic PRB luminosity.
Théodore Géricault
1791–1824French
Bridge between Neoclassicism and Romanticism. The Raft of the Medusa — monumental suffering, painted from corpses.
Studied cadavers for flesh tones. Bitumen-heavy palette that has darkened dramatically over time.