Romanticism Music • Start of what is known as Classical era in music • Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) – German composer and pianist – moved to Vienna in 1792 to study, though – dedicated his third symphony to Napoleon • but in 1804 crossed out Napoleon's name on the title page upon which he had written a dedication to him, as Napoleon's imperial ambitions became clear – at 28, he began to lose his hearing • it has variously been attributed to syphilis, lead poisoning, and typhus • Beethoven's hearing loss did not affect his ability to compose music, but it made concerts -- lucrative sources of income -- increasingly difficult – last public concert was in 1811 • Google honored Beethoven on his 245th birthday in 2015… • http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/google-doodle/12054422/How-well-do- you-know-Beethovens-most-famous-melodies-Google-Doodle-challenge-marks- genius-composers-245th-anniversary.html • http://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-ludwig-van-beethovens-245th-year Romanticism Music • Richard Wagner (1813-1883) – German composer known for his operas – supported by Bavaria’s King Ludwig II who was obsessed with his operas – Wagner frequently accused Jews, particularly Jewish musicians, of being a harmful alien element in German culture • Characters in his operas like Mime in "Siegfried" and Kundry in "Parsifal,” are evil caricatures of the supposedly inferior Jews • His most controversial essay on the subject was "Jewry and Music” (1851) – He argued that Jewish musicians were only capable of producing music that was shallow and artificial, because they had no connection to the genuine spirit of the German people – "Wagner was more than an anti-Semite. He wanted the extermination of all Jews.” » Israeli journalist Noah Klieger in 2013 • referred to Jews as worms, rats, warts and trichinae (an intestinal parasitic worm) Wagner and Hitler • Wagner greatly influenced Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich – Hitler was 12 when he first heard Wagner’s music live in Austria in 1901 – Hitler was a student and admirer of Wagner's ideology and music, and sought to incorporate it into his heroic mythology of the German nation – In 1933, Hitler ordered that each Nuremberg Rally open with a performance of The Mastersingers of Nuremberg overture – "Richard Wagner taught us what the Jew is.” • Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels • Joachim Köhler’s 2007 book, where he portrays Hitler as Wagner's creation – According to Köhler, Wagner was the forefather of the Holocaust • Even though Wagner died before Hitler's rise to power, the Wagner family had close ties with Hitler • Wagner's daughter-in- law Winifred Wagner (pictured here) often invited Hitler to a festival of the composer's operas in Bayreuth, Germany • When he was in prison writing "Mein Kampf," she even sent him ink, pencils and erasers Wagner’s daughter-in-law, Winifred, and Hitler Hitler visiting the Wagners' home in Bayreuth in 1938 (shown here with Winifred) Romanticism Music • Franz Schubert (1797-1828) – Austrian composer – Beethoven: "Truly, the spark of Divine genius resides in this Schubert!" – died early b/c of typhoid and mercury treatments for his syphilis • Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) – Polish pianist and composer of the Romantic era – Played for Russian tsar Alexander I at the age of 11 – Moved to Paris and became a musical sensation • Performed in the Tuileries at the court of Louis Philippe I – Had an affair with George Sand (real name: Aurore Dupin), a French novelist – Fled Paris in 1848 to escape revolution – died of tuberculosis – requested that Mozart’s Requiem be sung at his funeral Romanticism Music • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840—93) – Russian composer – used Western European forms instead of Russian forms – composer of Swan Lake • He composed the music for the ballet, which was fashioned from Russian folk tales • tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse – composer of The Nutcracker – composer of The 1812 Overture • Commemorates Russia’s defeat of Napoleon following his 1812 invasion • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BbT0E990IQ Romanticism • Revolt against Neo-Classicism and the Enlightenment • Crystallized in England and Germany in 1790s until the 1840s • Belief in emotional exuberance, unrestrained imagination, and spontaneity • Artists led Bohemian lives filled with emotional intensity – Rejected materialism and rationalism – choose to grow their hair long rather than wear powdered wigs • Believed development of one’s unique human potential was the purpose in life Enlightenment Industrial Revolution Progress Urbanization The Enlightenment Romanticism Reason Passion / Emotion Human Nature Nature Man Over Nature Nature Over Man Forward Looking Backward Looking Romanticism • Enchanted by nature as a source of spiritual inspiration – Saw the growth of industry as ugly, brutal attack on their beloved nature – Rejecting the "truths" of logic and mathematics, the Romantics praised instead the powers of imagination and emotion • championed the individual's subjective right to discover his/her own "truths" • An artist’s imagination was God at work in the mind The Critique of Progress Romantic artists enjoyed painting landscapes. Humans often take a back seat in Romantic The Lake of Zug, 1843 Joseph Mallord William Turner paintings. The Lake of Zug, 1843 JMW Turner Romanticism • Artists: –Caspar David Friedrich –Theodore Gericault –John Constable –Eugene Delacroix –J.M.W. Turner Caspar David Friedrich • 1774-1840 • Germany’s greatest romantic painter • Showed beauty of northern German hillsides and even expressions of a religious mysticism • Related several paintings to the search for the meaning of life Wanderer above the Sea of Fog Friedrich, Moonrise over the sea Friedrich, Man and woman contemplating the moon Friedrich, Morning Friedrich, Solitary Tree Riesengebirge Theodore Gericault • 1791-1824 • French romantic painter • Influenced by Rubens • wanted to create a profound art based on real scenes of real people The Raft of the “Medusa” • depicts the aftermath of a contemporary French shipwreck in which the incompetent captain had left the rest of the crew to die The Raft of the Medusa • July 2, 1816, the Medusa, a French ship bound for Senegal, ran aground off the coast of West Africa – There weren’t enough lifeboats on board, so 150 people were packed onto a hastily-constructed raft – After 15 days of cannibalism and mutiny, 15 survivors were picked up • The incident became a national scandal • Gericault spoke to the survivors to understand how to paint the horror – The painting was first shown during the trial of the captain of the Medusa • The painting's notoriety stemmed from its indictment of a corrupt establishment, but it also dramatized a more eternal theme, that of man's struggle with nature – The freedom of all humanity will only occur when the most oppressed member of society is emancipated John Constable • 1776-1837 • English romantic painter • Specialized in landscapes – Constable once remarked that “painting is but another word for emotion.” • his poetic approach to nature paralleled in spirit that of his contemporary, the poet Wordsworth Malvern Hall from the Lake 1809 Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Grounds Salisbury Cathedral • Portrayal of a stable world in which neither political turmoil or industrial development challenged the traditional dominance of the church • The sky looks as if a storm has just passed – The trees have withstood this storm, and the cathedral, which has stood since the Middle Ages, has come through intact Parham Mill at Gillingham Stonehenge Eugene Delacroix • 1798-1863 • French romantic painter • Influenced by Michelangelo and Rubens • Picasso was heavily influenced by him Liberty Leading the People Liberty Leading the People • Shows the Paris Revolution of 1830, which Delacroix supported Massacre at Chios • The Greeks struggle for freedom and independence won the enthusiastic support of liberals and nationalists – Delacroix saw in the Greek struggle for independence against the Turks an affirmation of the ideal of liberty • The Ottoman Turks are portrayed as cruel oppressors holding them back Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi • commemorated the defeat of the Greek nationalists • In the painting, Greece is personified as a young woman – The blood-spattered ruins on which she stands indicate defeat – symbolizes the defeat of a noble cause -1775-1851 -English Romantic Landscape Painter Self portrait, oil on canvas, circa 1799 The Blue Rigi, Sunrise The New Moon J.M.W. Turner, The Slave Ship (1840) The Slave Ship • Turner was inspired to paint The Slave Ship after reading The History and Abolition of the Slave Trade by Thomas Clarkson • About the Zong massacre – In 1781, the captain of the slave ship Zong had ordered 133 slaves to be thrown overboard so that insurance payments could be collected • Argument for slavery to be outlawed throughout the entire world Romantic Literature • Believed poetry was enhanced by freely following the creative impulses of the mind • British authors, playwrights, and poets – Mary Shelley – William Wordsworth – Lord Byron – Jane Austen – Charlotte and Emily Bronte Mary Shelley • English author • 1797-1851 • her mother was Mary Wollstonecraft • Frankenstein (1818) – a critique of the excesses of science – Goal: Perfect man – Outcome: Monster William Wordsworth (1770-1850) • Loved simplicity of nature • Called the “poet of nature” • “. poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from