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Perhaps the most representative romantic painting is “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog”, which is also known as “Wanderer Above the Mist”. The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog was painted by Caspar David Friedrich in 1818, an oil on canvas work that is quite symbolic of romanticism.

The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog depicts the painter himself standing on top of a high mountain with a great mass of fog before him. You can see peaks of other mountains above the surface of the thick fog, and a mountain range is visible in the background. Expansive sky above the mountains is much of the painting.

This painting is a powerful statement of loneliness and difficulties experienced by people who are intellectuals. The man in the painting is representative of the few people who are not the same as the majority of society – this thread is quite typical of the romantic period, which was a time when the industrial revolution was in full stride and many people attempted to get away from machinery, as well as the poverty and pain that machines brought to their world. People of this time wanted to return to the purity of nature and get away from societies evils.

During the height of the Romanticism Movement, landscaping art emerged. Artists that were closely associated with this era included Caspar David Friedrich, John Constable, J.M.W. Turner, and William Blake.

William Turner was probably the most important landscape artist of Romanticism. He was also known as the painter of light. He used watercolors and painted beautiful, romantic sunsets and paintings of various other subjects. One of his most important and beautiful paintings was titled “The Fighting Temerarie”. The painting shows an old ship, The Fighting Temeraire which fought in the battle of Trafalgar, and was tugged to her last Berth to be broken up. Turner always referred to this painting as “My Darling”. He never sold it and was emotionally attached to it.

John Constable paintings were geared towards nature and glorious skies, rivers and streams, hot summer days, clouds, livestock, small towns and everyday people coming and going on about their daily routine.

In general, landscapes had a great development during Romanticism evoking a spiritual state. There are preferences for night scenes, ruins, seascapes and cemeteries; landscapes with shades, silent and empty and full of sadness were often used.

Romanticism is the movement in art and literature that occurred in Europe and America during the mid/end 18^th until the 19^th century. It was a movement that revolted against the rationalism of Neoclassicism, which gave great importance to feelings. Its most important part was that it broke from the Neoclassical tradition and from a set of stereotyped rules. Romanticism is a way to feel and express nature, life and human nature. The style was expressed differently in each country.

Romanticism art is not signaled out in just one style, technique or attitude but rather characterized by being imaginative, emotional and a dream-like quality about the romantic artist’s paintings. Painters during Romanticism did not paint according to what they were requested but rather by their own feelings, looking to express their ideas and feelings on canvas.

The most important characteristics of Romanticism came as opposition to Neoclassicism. Specifically, subjectivism replaced objectivism. Feelings, passion, imagination, creativity, originality and imperfection prevailed over the importance of order, rules, rationality and perfection from Neoclassicism.

In Romanticism landscapes had a great importance since they evoked a spiritual state. Religious paintings recovered its importance from Baroque and Romantic painters were also very attracted by Nationalist settings.

There are many great Romantic artists but the most prominent ones of the Romantic era were the French Eugene Delacroix, the English William Turner, and the Spanish Francisco Goya.

Romanticism accented on the importance of feelings, imagination, self-expression, spontaneity, and imagination, mystical, beautiful, exotic, and individual creativity. Some artists painted what came natural to them in many subjects such as nature, scenery, passions and inner struggles, heroes, and violence, battles whatever inspired them to paint.

Eugene Delacroix was a true Romantic artist, with his exotic subjects, vibrant colors, and emotions that he truly defined Romanticism through his paintings. His bright and beautiful colors inspired artists around him and still amaze people who look at his work today. He illustrates swirling emotions in his works such as death, agony, love, life or battle.

One of his famous paintings, Death of Sardanapalus, was an oil painting he completed in 1826. His subject was taken from literature from the poet Lord Byron that he admired greatly. His work showed a burst of emotion in the dying and agonizing figures he portrayed. Through its violence and color, the painting excites people’s emotions and fantasies when they look at it. Delacroix’s work inspired many artists of different art movements but he was essentially known as a painter of the Romantic style. Delacroix also experimented with new color theories and free brushwork.

Francisco Goya painted in different styles, although some of his most important works are considered great examples of the Romantic period. After a severe illness in 1793, he became especially imaginative in his paintings. He started to paint and reflect the historical reality of his times, particularly the Spanish War of Independence. His paintings are full of obscure images and change of tonalities expressing great drama. He portrayed the horrors of the war, through images full of suffering; pain and death, were the victims were always common people.

Other great portrait artist was J.M.W. Turner and he was best known for the painting of beautiful romantic landscapes.