Age of Enlightenment and Romantic

During the Age of Enlightenment the major style was Rococo and artist expression centered on the theme "the pursuit of pleasure. " This is most evident in The Swing, painted by Jean-Honore Fragonard in 1769. Sculpture in the Age of Enlightenment wasn't much different than the paintings. Just as in the paintings it centered on pleasure. This is clearly seen in the sculpture The Intoxication of Wine, by Clodion in 1775, the intimate playfulness of the individuals as they frolic and drink wine in the nude.

Music Music was an important part of the Enlightenment ear.

Public recitals were rising in popular demand. The audience didn't wait for the end of the musical piece to applaud and they often asked for the 'movement' to be repeated. The musical genius of the time, and possibly all time, was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's symphony #40 is probably the most popular melodies of all time. During this time period a new "generation" of composers" started to emerge out of the shadows.

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Composers such as Beethoven were not starting to make their name for themselves. This is the age where love songs were also popular.

In addition to the orchestra, these love melodies often were popular by all genders and sexual preferences. Architecture Johann Balthasar Neumann was known for using the barrel vaults and domes to create sequences of round and oval spaces whose light, airy elegance is highlighted by the daylight streaming in through huge windows. These elements are accented by the used of very decorative plasterwork, gilding, and murals.

Vierzehnheiligen Basilika Architecture During the enlightenment era the architects made careful distinctions between Greek and Roman buildings.

These architects took their inspiration from shapes like spheres, cylinders, and cubes to form new more abstract buildings. (Fiero G. , 1992, book 4 p. 149) Web Gallery of Art (n. d. ) Philosophy Philosophers were well-educated individuals who got together to exchange their views on morality, politics, science, religion and to voice their opinions on everything from the latest dress fashions to diets. These philosophers, unlike previous times, scorned ALL forms of any authority. They looked to establish a superior moral and social order.

Denis Diderot, was in all probability one of the best known philosophers when he said "men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest" (Clipmark. com, n. d. ). Candide was a philosophy introduced by Voltaire; he came up with this introduction to optimism in 1759. This "Candide" was covered up by Voltaire, as he claimed it was only a joke. Voltaire claimed to have not written this piece and that the actual author was "Dr Demad" Literature Benjamin Franklin was considered America's first great man of letters by the Scottish philosopher David Hume.

He produced an annual book called Poor Richard's Almanack. The publication of these books began in 1732 and continued for several years. In these books, Franklin offered encouragement, advice, factual information, and he introduced characters such as old Father Abraham and Poor Richard. A Christmas Carol is one of the world's most famous stories. The tale of an old grump of a man finds the errors of his life and proceeds to fix it. This story is a story that has been told throughout the years and past down as a tradition.

Charles Dickens told this story from 1843; this story sold over six thousand copies in one week. Romantic Age Art The art from the Romantic Age was based on emotion, adventure, nature, common life experiences, and imagination. John Constable was known for teaching artists to use their imagination when drawing their pictures. His painting, The Hay Wain, is considered one of the greatest paintings from the Romantic Age. Romantics favored subjects that gave the imagination free reign, even to the point of being irregular or irrational.

During this time Napoleon was a powerful vehicle of political propaganda and Antoine-Jean Gros cast Napoleon in the guise of Christ healing the wounds of his followers in his famous painting of 'Napoleon Visiting the Plague Victims at Jaffa'. Music One of the more influential musical pieces of the Romantic Age is Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 from 1824. This symphony introduces a vocal soloist and a chorus. The music he composed was very passionate and at times was very intense. It is said that music frees the intellect and speaks directly into the heart.

This being said, one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era was Ludwig van Beethoven. His symphony #3 was perhaps his most notable. It is entitled 'Eroica' (Heroic) and was originally composed to honor Napoleon. Eroica at the time was almost twice as long and more complex than any typical classical symphony; lasting some twenty to twenty five minutes Architecture During this age, the architecture was mere a reflection of the past. Architects in Britain looked towards the past to see a vision for the future, by using Classical Greek and republican Roman style buildings personify "political and aesthetic ideals".

John Nash, English architect, designed the most intriguing Western pastiche called the Royal Pavilion at Brighton. This Pavilion is a combination of Indian, Chinese and Islamic motifs. (RoyalPavilion. org, n. d. ) Philosophy The Romantic Age saw the return of the natural movement and focus on nature. In science this was most evident in Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859. Though his Theory of Evolution wasn't new, it was the most detailed at the time. "The affinities of all the beings of the same class have sometimes been represented by a great tree. I believe this simile largely speaks the truth.

The green and budding twigs may represent existing species; and those produced during each former year may represent the long succession of extinct species. " (Darwin,1859, Darwin) The leading proponent of the back to nature movement that characterizes the Romantic Movement was William Wordsworth (1770-1850). He claimed that Nature could restore to human beings their untainted, childhood sense of wonder. (Fiero, 1992) Literature The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a story of terror and spookiness. This is the perfect Halloween tale; tale of a headless horseman killing and cutting off the heads of his victims.

This story takes place in 1790 a town called Terry Town, New York. William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge produced the Lyrical Ballads which was prefaced by words from Wordsworth stating that romantic poetry was "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings from emotion recollected in tranquility" (Fiero G. , 1992, book 5 p. 3)

References

A Christmas Carol. Retrieved April 4, 2008, from Wikipedia Web site: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol Clipmark. com (n. d. ), Retrieved on April 3, 2008 from:   http://www.literature.org/