Romanticism

Chronology of The Romantic Period1820

• Prince Regent becomes King George IV of England

1823• United states announces in the Monroe Doctrine that the Western hemisphere is no longer open to colonization

1824• Death of the Lord Byron

1830• Publication of the first American fashion magazine, Godey’s Lady’s Book• Revolution in France, ending with installation of the King Louis Philippe

1837• Queen Victoria ascends the throne in England

1839• Louis Daguerre announces that he has found a method for making photographic images

1840• Wedding of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert

1842• Publication of Peterson’s Magazine, second American fashion magazine

1845• The United States annexes Texas

1846• Elias Howe invents the lock stitch sewing machine

1848• Revolution in France, Louis Napoleon elected President of France

• Declaration of the Rights of Women, issued in Seneca Falls, NY, proposes that women be granted the right to vote

1849• Gold Rush to California where gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill

Chronology

The Romantic Period (1750-1850)

• The ideologies and events of the French Revolution were rooted in Romanticism and affected the direction the Revolution was to take.

• Romantic art was characterized by the personal, emotional expression of the artist's social or political beliefs. The models used by Romantic painters and writers were drawn from an idealized past. The revival of historical styles in architecture and interior design ranged from Antiquity to the Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque periods.

No previous generation in western Europe had had such a strong awareness of being the heir and descendant of previous ages, while at

the same time feeling quite cut off from those past times.

RomanticArchitecture

andDecoration

Interior of an opera box (London, 1844)

Illustration by Eugène Lami, from The American in Paris during the summerBy Jules Janin.

"a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century and gained strength during the Industrial

Revolution. It was partly a revolt against the aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific

rationalization of nature, and was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature".

Romantic Style:

Artist “genius” complex – they are thrown upon the mercies of the marketplace

The worship of the sublime – emotional identification with nature

Moving away from Greek and Roman – to the Medieval, Oriental, Islamic and Barbaric Cultures

Architecture no longer a harmonious and unified blend of carefully structured forms…

NOW a symbolic evocation of associations and feelings appropriate with the structure

< Girl Seated in a Cemetery

and

> The Death of Sardanapalus

By Eugène Delacroix (1824 & 1827)

English - Strawberry Hill (Near London, 1749-77)By Horace Walpole and others

Folly: a whimsical or extravagant structure built to serve as a conversation piece, lend interest to a view, commemorate a person or event, etc. (as above… gothic castles made to look medieval)

English - Strawberry Hill (Near London, 1749-77)By Horace Walpole and others

Architectural Frosting in lieu of Structure (which was unimportant)

Fan Vaulting

The overall effect is one of rounded lines, serpentine body curves, a healthy furnished, richly textured interior, and a decorative elegance in the accessories,

costume trimmings and furnishings.

English - Brighton Pavilion (1815-1818)By John Nash

Indian Gothic StyleIslamic minarets (a lofty, often slender, tower or turret), onion domes and perforated screens set into ogival arches (an arch having a head that is acutely pointed) also known as a lancet arch.

Exotic and Escapist

Associations

Romance, Relaxation,

Frivolity, Picturesque

English - Brighton Pavilion: Banqueting Room (1815-1818)By John Nash

Individual rooms decorated with a fanciful exotic theme.

English - Brighton Pavillon By Frederick Crace (1815)

Chinoiserie [sheen-wah-zuh-ree]: English interpretation of Chinese

v English Bergere (c. 1800)> English Bergere (c. 1823)

There was a tendency toward embellishment using ormolu and brass inlay, in the style of Louis XIV's designer Boulle.

Late Regency

By 1835… the upholsterer, rather than the cabinet maker, dictated in matters of interior decoration.

Romantic Dress• Following the collapse of the first Empire, the French were subjected to a series of conservative monarchies.

• Once again, the lower classes rejected the styles of the fashionable elite.

• The middle-class woman , however, was more constrained than ever in her social role, largely relegated to the home to serve the needs of her husband and family. Female fashions became more physically restrictive.

• French fashion continued to dominate the rest of Europe.

• The first sewing machine readily available for public purchase was invented by Elias Howe in 1846, but it did not become used extensively until after the Civil War. One of his machines could do the work of approximately 10 individual stitchers, thus forever changing the nature of the garment industry.

The Women

Fashion Plate (1829) from the Royal Lady’s Magazine

Characteristic Trends of the Romantic Era

~1820-1835, The silhouette for women during this time is characterized by a waistline moving down from under the bust to several inches above the natural waist, fuller skirts with increased decoration at the bottom, and a wide variety of sleeve types.

Hair was worn parted in the middle, with the back arranged in a knot, and side curls beside the face. Bonnets were popular headgear during the day.

Cone-shaped skirts created from gored (triangular shaped) panels.

Pelisse Coat

The Women Carriage Dress, La Belle Assemblee, no. 187, June 1, 1824

> The sleeves on this dress were known as the marie-sleeve: full to the wrist but tied at intervals.

Evening Dresses, La Belle Assemblee, New Series, no. 54, June 1, 1829

< Imbecile or idiot sleeve: extremely full from the shoulder to wrist,

Demi-gigot [jig-uht,] (leg-of-lamb): full from shoulder to elbow, then fitted to the wrist.

The Women

The June 1831 issue of The Royal Lady's Magazine label the dresses pictured in this fashion plate as the following (from left to right):

• A Walking Dress• An Evening Dress• A Carriage Dress• A Morning Dress• A Carriage Dress

Romantic Era dresses were often described by either the time of day during which they were to be worn (ie. a morning or an evening dress) or the activity for which they were intended (ie. a promenade (walking) or a carriage dress). Very often the differences between the types of dresses is so subtle, it is difficult to distinguish the styles.

~1836-1850, During the later years of the Romantic Era, the puffed upper body silhouette takes on a deflated quality. This is particularly true in regard to the sleeve shapes. Much of the former fullness is still present in the cut, however it is now pushed downward.

Tight-lacing becomes the vogue in corsetry, waists were depicted as impossibly tiny. (fashionable woman desired a 15-inch circumference at her mid-section, many more ladies claimed to have successfully achieved this feat than was true in reality.)

The Women

The Women Bride and Woman, Les Modes Parisiennes, no. 294, c. 1847

Decorative additions have been added to the upper sleeve, pushing the fullness below the elbow.

A movement away from skirts constructed through triangular shaped gores towards those constructed using large rectangular panels. Hem widths continue to increase as does the fullness at the waist, resulting in deep pleats.

The Women

A la Chinoise was a coiffure created by pulling the hair at the back and the side of the head up into a knot or bun while arranging hair at the forehead and temples into large sausage curls.

Ferroniere

Romantic writers emphasized the maidens who died for love (almost always of "the consumption") and vixens whose hard-heartedness tortured the heart of her lover. Illness became a fashion statement... women cultivated a sickly paleness of complexion (often enhanced by rice powder).

The Men

Man in Redingcote, Les Modes Parisiennes, 1828

~1820-1850, Men wore tight fitting trousers or pantaloons, coats nipped at the waist, and top hats. It was customary for the trousers, waistcoat, and coat to be different colors.

• Top Hat• Cravat• Neckpiece tied around the neck and finished in a bow• Trousers or pantaloons (used interchangeably) tucked into boots.• Greatcoat (forerunner of today’s overcoat)

The Men

~1820-1850, The biggest clue signifying the Romantic Period in men's wear is the illusion of the "nipped" in waist. This reflects the feminine "tight-lacing" trend. For the first time, tailors begin to add a complex inner structure to coat construction.

Frock Coat: cut with a full, often gored, skirt and there generally is a seam at the waist.

Instep strap: pantaloons passing underneath the foot to create a “pegged” look.

Gibus [jahy-buhs]: top hat variation which folded flat to carry under arm.

Top Hats were made of beaver, bear, or silk (the most formal).

The Men

~1820-1850,

Caped and Double-Breasted Frock Coats

Paletot [pal-i-toh]: a short greatcoat with a small flat collar (man on left)

Garrick: a boxy, large greatcoat with one or more caped collars over the shoulders. Named for David Garrick (English Actor and Manager)

Inverness [in-ver-nes]: a cloak with one or more caped collars over the shoulders

> stove-pipe style top hat

< belled style top hat

The Raft of the Medusa by Theodore Gericault (1818)

Discuss this image in regard to the ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

The Derby at Epson by Theodore Gericault (1821)

Discuss this image in regard to the ELEMENTS OF DESIGN