A few months ago, I came upon an artwork of the remarkably interesting period of Romanticism. The ghastly eyes were calling out for help, they were confused, felt trapped and exhausted. This was the first time I had seen the painting The Desperate Man, by Gustave Courbet.
Courbet had been a young fellow when he had come to Paris, to study law. Soon, he was influenced by the charms of being an artist when he decided to shift his career path. Since he had just begun, he kept looking for himself in his art. While in search of his artistic identity, Courbet felt anxious and rather desperate. And that is when he created the masterpiece, which was kept away in his studio and not sold for years to come. But what exactly is Romanticism? It is all the emotions a person feels, expressed rightfully so, through paintings, literature, music etc. Romanticism gracefully also captures the idea of being in awe of nature, celebrating individuality, and imagination. It may all seem common to a person living in the 21 st century, but before Romanticism, paintings that mostly revolved around Biblical scenarios and war scenes dominated art. Romanticism, however, gave an individual an opportunity to express themselves, to see
themselves in another person, to explore themselves, and to find out who they truly are. It helped them connect with nature, and step aside once from the religious perspective of life and be able to experience other factors.
Romanticism persists. One such example in our century is Michael Jackson’s renowned song, Earth Song. He connected himself with Nature and expressed his emotions about the deteriorating planet. He asked questions like “What about the animals?” “What about nature’s worth?” and most importantly, “What have we done to the world?” He influenced people by rightfully using his position as a global superstar. And that’s the beauty of this art period. It brings us together and as long as humanity thrives, Romanticism will too.
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