The break between Classicism and Romanticism in the Fine Arts

[OuCy]

Hi,

just need a little help defining the reasons why the Romantic artists wanted to break away from Classicism in fine art, their motives, and how they achieved this?
Any help would be very much appreciated! :)

[woofgang]

if you need a little help, tell us what you know and we'll fill in the gaps.....

[OuCy]

Well i know that the Classicists emphasized formal qualities in painting, such as order, geometry etc. It sought to reflect idealized society (a hierarchal one i think). As far as i know, enlightenment and reason were a big part of Classical art, and the Romantics wanted to revert back to a state of mind in which emotion, intuition, and imagination gave teh person an authorative position . I also think that it was a reaction to the birth of industrial Britain no?
Any ideas? Thanks :)

[heathfield]

Try Google for 'romanticism in art origins'. Plenty of links.

[jno]

all movements tend to run out of steam; people start to think of them as old-fashioned and look for new ways of doing things. Architects spent much of the 20th century building glass boxes for office buildings but over the last 20 years or so they've begun to make them look like gherkins and shards instead (and that's just in London) because clients want something different.

[Khandro]

jno is quite right, people weary of all fashions, the Germans have a word for it,- Formermudung - literally 'style tiredness'. The 20th cent. 'glass boxes' by Mies van der Rohe and and Bauhaus design was in reaction to the over decorated late Victorian. We shall no doubt tire of 'Gherkin Style' I already have !

[woofgang]

I think there is not just an element of tiring of a fashion but also the tendency of humanity to overdo and over complicate any idea. It gets to the stage where the idea becomes constraining and ridiculous and the reaction starts...not just art..eg political correctness, nouvelle cuisine, feminism, home makeover shows, reality tv.....the list is endless.

[heathfield]

Believe it or not, one of the reasons for using glass for the walls of buildings is that it reduces construction costs.