The 10 Best Paintings

in Romanticism
By Expedia Team, on February 20, 2019
https://www.expedia.co.uk/
• “When talking about Romanticism, art is
without doubt one of the best ways to understand
the spirit of this intense historical period that was
so full of contrasts. But remember, Romanticism
in art is not the same as the longed-for
romanticism of Valentine’s Day. And these works
are a good example of this. Which are the best
works of the Romantic period? We have picked
10 for you.
 The Kiss: Francesco Hayez – The Pinacoteca di Brera
1.

(Milan)
• Any discussion about the best Romantic paintings cannot start
without reference to Italian painter Francesco Hayez’s masterpiece.
Working mainly in Milan, he combined political narrative with
scenes of intense beauty. It is not by chance that this painting has
become the face of Romanticism in Italy. The artist even painted
three different versions of it. The first thing we see is two lovers
engaged in a passionate embrace, full of the ardor of youth. There
is, in fact, a deeper underlying message here: that of national union,
patriotism, and political and military commitment, all of which are
allegorically represented in this incredible painting.
2. The Raft of the Medusa: Théodore Géricault –
The Louvre (Paris)
•We could talk about this painting for hours. In case you are not
familiar with it, this is not only one of the best paintings of the
Romantic era, it is also one of the best in the Louvre, thrilling from
the very first moment you see it. Théodore Géricault’s large
painting of the Raft of the Medusa initially caused considerable
scandal and controversy. The painting depicts a real-life tragic
event: the shipwreck of 1816 in which hundreds of soldiers lost
their lives. That event stunned an entire nation because 150 people
climbed onto the raft but only 15 managed to be rescued and
survived.
• The artist, who was still very young, portrayed
the tragedy with surprising realism for the time, by
studying the bodies of both the living and the dead. The
Neoclassical era, which French art was still very much
characterised by, plunged into intense Romanticism. It
took time for the work to be fully appreciated, as often
happens with great artists, but when it was first put on
display the predominant emotion was one of rejection.
3. Wanderer above the Sea of Fog: Caspar
David Friedrich – The Kunsthalle (Hamburg)
•This painting expertly demonstrates some of the
major themes of Romanticism. The painting
depicts a young man from behind, the wanderer,
as he gazes at a thick sea of fog. What better
representation of the intense, dramatic, and
melancholy sentiments of the 19th century
Romantics?
•This wonderful painting, unlike the others that we
have already described, does not tell a story. It
portrays an emotional state: ideas of infinity and
roaming, of the imperfection of the soul and of
its emotions. Wanderer above the Sea of
Fog is a symbol for German Romanticism, which
developed differently from its French and Italian
counterparts. Art has always been able to express
diversity and the many different states of mind.
Or has it?
4. The Fighting Temeraire: William Turner – The
National Gallery (London)
•Now we move on to the English portrayal of Romanticism through
the paintings of William Turner, who had the ability to
portray emotions, feelings, and Romantic ideas such as the sublime.
This masterpiece depicts the last voyage of the once victorious
English battleship, the Temeraire as it is towed to the scrapyard with
its white flag fluttering in the breeze, against the background of a
sunset. The painting merges contrasting emotions with political
implications, a style that was typical of Romanticism.
•Back then, Turner’s brilliance lay in
introducing landscape as an equally
important element in genre art, that is, the
realistic painting of scenes from everyday
life. Nowadays we consider this obvious,
but Turner was revolutionary in his choice.
5. The Hay Wain: John Constable – The
National Gallery (London)
Staying with the themes of Romanticism and landscape, John
Constable is another of English Romanticism’s important painters, and
like Turner, he dedicated himself to pastoral landscapes, painting
Dedham Vale, near where he was born. The Hay Wain is his great
masterpiece. At the time, this large painting provoked scandal as his
technique of using small brush strokes to paint landscape appeared to
be almost the same as the technique used by the Impressionists.
• In London, this innovation was considered
impertinent and deliberately provocative,
although it was much loved in France and by
Géricault. Nature was definitely Constable’s
central theme, but his portrayal of nature was
very different from that depicted by Friedrich.
Fascinating, right?
6. Liberty Leading the People: Eugene Delacroix –
The Louvre (Paris)
• This painting hardly needs any explanation given that you are
likely to have seen it many times before, reproduced in many
different contexts and used to represent revolution, freedom, and
the victory of the people. It portrays Liberty leading the united
people against the oppressor, one of patriotism’s great concepts.
Social class is not important here and Delacroix paints different
types of people, which is evident from their clothing. Because of
this, the painting has always been considered an icon of political
art. This painting is one of the first examples of the genre and is
certainly one of the most well-loved.
7.The Hülsenbeck Children: Philipp Otto Runge – The Kunsthalle
(Hamburg)

• This artist belongs to German Romanticism and stands out due

to his portrayal of children, for which he earned the nickname
“painter of fairy tales”. He takes his place in Romanticism on
account of the allegorical meaning he conveys, as in this
painting, The Hülsenbeck Children, which is one of his best.
In the foreground, the painting depicts a friend’s
children standing next to some sunflowers. It is a perfect
composition of colour and conveys the allegorical meaning of
childhood, innocence, and the lost age, which the Romantic
era wistfully looked back on.
8. Dido Building Carthage: William Turner – The National
Gallery (London)

• One of Romantic art’s prerogatives was that of looking to the

past, often with a deep, nostalgic longing for distant times.
Turner’s Dido Building Carthage is a perfect example of this.
Turner admired the artists Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorraine,
who preceded him, and like them Turner employed historic
themes, starting with the subject of this work, taken from
Virgil’s Aeneid. The observer is captivated by the painting’s
natural appearance and by the feelings its very nature
conveys. A nature that is tranquil, majestic, dominating, and
unchallenged.
9. Sea of Ice: Caspar David Friedrich – The
Kunsthalle (Hamburg)

• Friedrich returns to the shipwreck theme, but this time in

a sea of ice. The German artist’s painting is best
characterised by his ability to evoke
strong emotion through landscape and nature images that
have other symbolic meanings. The shipwreck actually
represents man’s never-ending journey and brings to
mind humankind’s extreme vulnerability. In a never-
ending quest, man is at the mercy of events that take
place and is powerless against them.
10. Chartres Cathedral: Camille Corot – The
Louvre (Paris)
• First and foremost a landscape painter, Camille Corot
features among the Romantic artists because of his
attention to nature and its relationship with man,
captured here in the beautiful painting Chartres
Cathedral. The painting portrays man’s presence in a
natural setting made up of trees, clouds, and fields. The
figures in the foreground make us aware of the human
presence in a painting that aims to make all its different
elements equally important.