Things to learn about the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and Romanticism (Packet 4 of 12)

1. The Enlightenment

A European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition. It was heavily influenced by 17th-century philosophers such as Rene Descartes, John Locke, and Isaac Newton, and its prominent exponents include Immanuel Kant, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Adam Smith. Thinkers in Britain, in France and throughout Europe questioned traditional authority and embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through rational change. It produced numerous books, essays, inventions, scientific discoveries, laws, wars and revolutions. The American and French Revolutions were directly inspired by its ideals. It ultimately gave way to 19th-century Romanticism.

2. scientific revolution

Historical changes in thought and belief, as well as changes in social and institutional organization, that unfolded in Europe between roughly 1550-1700; beginning with Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543), who asserted a heliocentric (sun-centered) cosmos, and ending with Isaac Newton (1642-1727), who proposed universal laws and a Mechanical Universe.

3. Nicholas Copernicus

Astronomer instrumental in establishing the concept of a heliocentric solar system, in which the sun, rather than the earth, is the center of the solar system. Born on February 19, 1473 in Torun, Poland. Circa 1508, he developed his own celestial model of a heliocentric planetary system. Around 1514, he shared his findings in the Commentariolus. His second book on the topic, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, was banned by the Roman Catholic Church decades after his May 24, 1543 death in Frombork.


4. Seven Axioms of Copernicus

1) Planets don't revolve around one fixed point.

2) The earth is not at the center of the universe.

3) The sun is at the center of the universe, and all celestial bodies rotate around it.

4) The distance between the earth and sun is only a tiny fraction of stars' distance from the earth and sun.

5) Stars do not move, and if they appear to, it is only because the earth itself is moving.

6) Earth moves in a sphere around the sun, causing the sun's perceived yearly movement.

7) Earth's own movement causes other planets to appear to move in an opposite direction.

5. Galileo Galilei

Italian scientist and scholar who made pioneering observations that laid the foundation for modern physics and astronomy. Born on February 15, 1564, in Pisa, Italy, he was a mathematics professor who made pioneering observations of nature with long-lasting implications for the study of physics. There is a rumor of him dropping steel balls of different masses off the Leaning Tower of Pisa to test acceleration. He also constructed a telescope and supported the Copernican theory, which supports a sun-centered solar system. He discovered four of the moons of Jupiter. He was accused twice of heresy by the church for his beliefs, and wrote books on his ideas. He died in Arcetri, Italy, on January 8, 1642.

6. Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems

A 1632 Italian-language book by Galileo Galilei comparing the Copernican system with the traditional Ptolemaic system. In the Copernican system, the Earth and other planets orbit the Sun, while in the Ptolemaic system, everything in the Universe circles around the Earth. The Dialogue was published in Florence under a formal license from the Inquisition. In 1633, Galileo was found to be "vehemently suspect of heresy" based on the book, which was then placed on the Index of Forbidden Books, from which it was not removed until 1835. The book contains three main characters:

Salviati - An intellectual who seems to speak for Galileo

Sagredo - A wealthy nobleman who is seeking truth.

Simplicio - An Aristotelian philosopher who puts up ineffectual arguments for Salviati to knock down

Pope Urban VIII complained that Galileo was not including all of his arguments, so Galileo added them, having them spoken bu Simplicio, which didn’t go over very well with the pope.

7. Tycho Brahe

Science has many colorful figures, but nobody quite like this man, who lived from 1546-1601. Beyond his astronomy genius, he lost his nose in a math-fueled duel, possibly inspired Shakespeare to write Hamlet and died in some sort of mystery that ranged from the extreme tale of his bladder bursting when he refused to get up to urinate at a party, to the relatively tamer explanation that he was poisoned with mercury. In either case, he is most known for using his extensive wealth, and some of the Danish government’s, to set up an observatory in his castle and collect extensive astronomical data, that was taken by his top pupil Johannes Kepler upon his death. This has led to some scholars to go as far as to suggest that Kepler poisoned him. In addition, he set up a geocentric theory that could not be disproven in his day. For that reason, Galileo chose to ignore it and argue against the very out-dated Ptolemaic theory instead. 8. Johannes Kepler

He is now chiefly remembered for discovering the three laws of planetary motion that bear his name published in 1609 and 1619). He also did important work in optics, discovered two new regular polyhedra, gave the first mathematical treatment of close packing of equal spheres (leading to an explanation of the shape of the cells of a honeycomb), gave the first proof of how logarithms worked, and devised a method of finding the volumes of solids of revolution that can be seen as contributing to the development of calculus. Moreover, he calculated the most exact astronomical tables hitherto known, whose continued accuracy did much to establish the truth of heliocentric astronomy. Throughout his life, he was a profoundly religious man. All his writings contain numerous references to God, and he saw his work as a fulfilment of his Christian duty to understand the works of God. He was convinced that God had made the Universe according to a mathematical plan (a belief found in the works of Plato and associated with Pythagoras). His Harmonices Mundi, discussing the harmony of the universe, says as much.

9. Laws of Planetary Motion

In the early 1600s, Johannes Kepler proposed three laws of planetary motion. Kepler was able to summarize the carefully collected data of his mentor - Tycho Brahe - with three statements that described the motion of planets in a sun-centered solar system. Kepler's efforts to explain the underlying reasons for such motions are no longer accepted; nonetheless, the actual laws themselves are still considered an accurate description of the motion of any planet and any satellite.

Kepler's three laws of planetary motion can be described as follows:

1) The path of the planets about the sun is elliptical in shape, with the center of the sun being located at one focus. (The Law of Ellipses)


2) An imaginary line drawn from the center of the sun to the center of the planet will sweep out equal areas in equal intervals of time. (The Law of Equal Areas)
    
3) The ratio of the squares of the periods of any two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their average distances from the sun. (The Law of Harmonies)


10. Sir Isaac Newton

English physicist and mathematician, most famous for his law of gravitation, was instrumental in the scientific revolution of the 17th century. Born on January 4, 1643, in Woolsthorpe, England, he was an established physicist and mathematician, and is credited as one of the great minds of the 17th century Scientific Revolution. With discoveries in optics, motion and mathematics, he developed the principles of modern physics. In 1687, he published his most acclaimed work, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) – often shortened to Principia Mathematica or simply Principia – which has been called the single most influential book on physics. He died in London on March 31, 1727.

11. Principia

A work in three books by Isaac Newton, in Latin, first published 5 July 1687. It states Newton's laws of motion, forming the foundation of classical mechanics; Newton's law of universal gravitation; and a derivation of Kepler's laws of planetary motion (which Kepler first obtained empirically). It is "justly regarded as one of the most important works in the history of science". Newton's law of universal gravitation states that a particle attracts every other particle in the universe using a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

12. Newton’s Laws of Motion

1st Law

The first law says that an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion, with the same direction and speed. Motion (or lack of motion) cannot change without an unbalanced force acting. If nothing is happening to you, and nothing does happen, you will never go anywhere. If you're going in a specific direction, unless something happens to you, you will always go in that direction. Forever. This concept is called inertia.

2nd Law

The second law says that the acceleration of an object produced by a net (total) applied force is directly related to the magnitude of the force, the same direction as the force, and inversely related to the mass of the object (inverse is a value that is one over another number... the inverse of 2 is 1/2). The second law shows that if you exert the same force on two objects of different mass, you will get different accelerations (changes in motion). The effect (acceleration) on the smaller mass will be greater (more noticeable). The effect of a 10 newton force on a baseball would be much greater than that same force acting on a truck. The difference in effect (acceleration) is entirely due to the difference in their masses.

3rd Law

The third law says that for every action (force) there is an equal and opposite reaction (force). Forces are found in pairs. Think about the time you sit in a chair. Your body exerts a force downward and that chair needs to exert an equal force upward or the chair will collapse. It's an issue of symmetry. Acting forces encounter other forces in the opposite direction. There's also the example of shooting a cannonball. When the cannonball is fired through the air (by the explosion), the cannon is pushed backward. The force pushing the ball out was equal to the force pushing the cannon back, but the effect on the cannon is less noticeable because it has a much larger mass. That example is similar to the kick when a gun fires a bullet forward.

13. William Harvey

Living from 1578 to 1657, he was the first person to correctly describe blood’s circulation in the body. He showed that arteries and veins form a complete circuit. The circuit starts at the heart and leads back to the heart. The heart’s regular contractions drive the flow of blood around the whole body.

14. Sir Francis Bacon

Born on January 22, 1561 in London, England. He served as attorney general and Lord Chancellor of England, resigning amid charges of corruption. His more valuable work was philosophical. He took up Aristotelian ideas, arguing for an empirical, inductive approach, known as the scientific method, which is the foundation of modern scientific inquiry. He wrote Novum Organum, detailing the use of the scientific method, which him followed all the way to death – literally. In March 1626, he was performing a series of experiments with ice. While testing the effects of cold on the preservation and decay of meat, he stuffed a hen with snow near Highgate, England, and caught a chill. Ailing, he stayed at Lord Arundel's home in London. The guest room where he resided was cold and musty. He soon developed bronchitis, and died a week later.

15. John Locke

The English philosopher and political theorist (1632-1704) laid much of the groundwork for the Enlightenment and made central contributions to the development of liberalism. Trained in medicine, he was a key advocate of the empirical approaches of the Scientific Revolution. In his “Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” he advanced a theory of the self as a blank page, with knowledge and identity arising only from accumulated experience. His political theory of government by the consent of the governed as a means to protect “life, liberty and estate” deeply influenced the United States’ founding documents. His essays on religious tolerance provided an early model for the separation of church and state.

16. Voltaire
Born François-Marie Arouet, though better known by his immortal pen name, he was born on November 21, 1694, in Paris. In a literary career that stretched over 60 years, he wrote many influential poems, essays and books including “Candide” and “Letters Concerning the English Nation.” His surgical wit and provocative ideas on religion, liberty and ethics saw him both celebrated and scorned in the courts of Europe, and later helped cement his reputation as one of the foundational figures of the Enlightenment.

Some of his quotes include:

“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.”

“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”

“Common sense is not so common.”

“Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.”

“Prejudices are what fools use for reason.”

17. Candide

A French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. It begins with a young man, the title character, who is living a sheltered life in an Eden-like paradise and being indoctrinated with an optimistic philosophy by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by the title character's slow, painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes by advocating a deeply practical precept, "we must cultivate our garden", in lieu of the optimistic mantra of Pangloss, "all is for the best in this the best of all possible worlds".

18. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
A French philosopher and writer of the Age of Enlightenment. His Political Philosophy, particularly his formulation of social contract theory, strongly influenced the French Revolution and the development of Liberal, Conservative and Socialist theory. A brilliant, undisciplined and unconventional thinker throughout his colorful life, his views on Philosophy of Education and on religion were equally controversial but nevertheless influential. He is considered to have invented modern autobiography and his novel "Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse" was one of the best-selling fictional works of the 18th Century (and was important to the development of Romanticism). He also made important contributions to music, both as a theorist and as a composer.

19. Adam Smith

Scottish social philosopher and political economist who wrote The Wealth of Nations and achieved the first comprehensive system of political economy. The book, published in 1776 with the full title An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, is considered the “Bible of capitalism” and introduces the concept of competition acting like an “invisible hand” that regulates prices.

20. Neoclassicism

A movement in the visual arts in Europe that began c. 1760 in opposition to the then-dominant Baroque and Rococo styles. Rococo architecture emphasizes grace, ornamentation and asymmetry; This architecture is based on the principles of simplicity and symmetry, which were seen as virtues of the arts of Rome and Ancient Greece. The main movement coincided with the 18th-century Age of Enlightenment, and continued into the early 19th century, latterly competing with Romanticism. In architecture, the style continued throughout the 19th, 20th and up to the 21st century.

21. Salon

The official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. It exhibited paintings floor-to-ceiling and on every available inch of space. The jostling of artwork became the subject of many other paintings, including Pietro Antonio Martini's Salon of 1785.

22. Jacques Louis David

A 19th century painter who is considered to be the principal proponent of the Neoclassical style, which moved art briskly away from the previous Rococo period. His most famous works include "The Death of Marat", “The Oath of the Horatii” and "Napoleon Crossing the Alps." His style of history painting helped end the frivolity of the Rococo period, moving art back to the realm of classical austerity, and is sometimes tied to the ideals of the French Revolution.

23. Jean-Antoine Houdon

A Neoclassical sculptor, whose work was mainly portraits, very often as busts, which do not sacrifice a strong impression of the sitter's personality to idealism. His style became more classical as his long career continued, and represents a rather smooth progression from Rococo charm to classical dignity. Unlike some Neoclassical sculptors he did not insist on his sitters wearing Roman dress, or being unclothed. He portrayed most of the great figures of the Enlightenment, and traveled to America to produce a statue of George Washington, as well as busts of Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and other luminaries of the new republic.

24. Josiah Wedgwood

An English potter who lived from 1730-1795. He is credited with the industrialization of the manufacture of pottery. The renewed classical enthusiasms of the late 1760s and early 1770s was of major importance to his sales promotion. His goods were always considerably more expensive than those of his fellow potters. Every new invention that he produced - green glaze, creamware, black basalt and jasper - was quickly copied. A prominent abolitionist, Wedgwood is remembered too for his "Am I Not a Man And a Brother?" anti-slavery medallion.

25. American Revolution

A political upheaval that took place between 1765 and 1783 during which colonists in the Thirteen American Colonies rejected the British monarchy and aristocracy, overthrew the authority of Great Britain, and founded the United States of America. Frankly, it is only included in this packet because it helped serve to inspire the French Revolution, when the French, who had helped fund it, suddenly realized what was possible.

26. Thomas Paine

Born in England in 1737 and died in New York in 1809, he was an English-American writer and political pamphleteer whose Common Sense and American Crisis papers were important influences on the American Revolution. Other works that contributed to his reputation as one of the greatest political propagandists in history were Rights of Man, a defense of the French Revolution and of republican principles; and The Age of Reason, an exposition of the place of religion in society. He spent much of the 1790s in France and even was elected to the French National Convention despite not being able to speak French. He was aligned with the more moderate Girondists, however, which led to his arrest when the rival Montagnards led by Maximillien Robespierre took over. James Monroe negotiated his release.

27. Common Sense

A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–76 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Written in clear and persuasive prose, Paine marshaled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government. It was published anonymously on January 10, 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolution, and became an immediate sensation. It was sold and distributed widely and read aloud at taverns and meeting places. In proportion to the population of the colonies at that time (2.5 million), it had the largest sale and circulation of any book published in American history.

28. The American Crisis

A series of 16 pamphlets published by Thomas Paine during the American Revolution. With the first volume beginning with the famous line, “These are the times that try men’s souls,” the pamphlets referred to the revolutionaries and “summer soldiers” and “sunshine patriots” and laid out reasons for the war, even advocating that God was on the side of the revolutionaries.

29. Rights of Man

A book by Thomas Paine, including 31 articles, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its people. Using these points as a base it defends the French Revolution against Edmund Burke's attack in Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790). As a result of the work, Paine was tried in absentia in England for libel against Burke, as prime minister William Pitt feared the French Revolution may spill over to England. Paine was convicted, leading to the Treason Trials in England, as the government felt bolstered by the Paine verdict. It turns out they shouldn’t have been so confident. The first three men tried in the Treason Trials were all acquitted by three separate juries.

30. The Age of Reason

Subtitled, Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology, it is a work written by English and American political activist Thomas Paine. It follows in the tradition of eighteenth-century British deism, and challenges institutionalized religion and the legitimacy of the Bible. Originally distributed as unbound pamphlets, it was published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807. It was a best-seller in the United States, where it caused a short-lived deistic revival. British audiences, however, fearing increased political radicalism as a result of the French Revolution, received it with more hostility. It presents common deistic arguments; for example, it highlights what Paine saw as corruption of the Christian Church and criticizes its efforts to acquire political power. Paine advocates reason in the place of revelation, leading him to reject miracles and to view the Bible as "an ordinary piece of literature rather than as a divinely inspired text". It promotes natural religion and argues for the existence of a creator-God.

31. Maquis de Lafayette

Born in 1757 as Gilbert du Motier, but better known by his title, the Frenchman is one of the heroes of the American Revolution and was close friends with George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. He and the latter worked together on the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen. He was involved early in the French Revolution as well, being elected at the Estates General of 1789 and heading the National Guard. However, when the radical side of the revolution took over, an order was made for his arrest and he fled to Austria. He returned to France during the reign of Napoleon, but did not return to service in the government until the restoration of the monarchy.

32. guillotine

A machine used for the mechanized application of capital punishment by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame, from which is suspended a heavy trapezoctial blade. The blade is hauled to the top of the frame on a stout cord and held in  
place while the victim has their head placed in  
a restraining bar. The cord is released, and the heavy. blade falls, severing the head. It  
was the execution method of choice in the  
French Revolution, suggested by physician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin as a replacement for the breaking wheel in 1789.

33. bourgeois

The French middle class the time of. be. French Revolution. Originally, the term designated a freeman in the Middle Ages, as opposed to the nobility and/or those in slavery. As trading and skill increased, they began to join guilds and unified further to increase their political capital. They developed their own philosophies. The concepts of personal liberty, free trade and religious and civil rights all come from them. The frustration with the absolutism of the French monarchy caused them to rise up and end the monarchy.

34. Louis XVI

Upon ascending to the throne of France in 1754, he was well liked. However, he was indecisive, and this ultimately caused his downfall. The people mistook his lack of action for tyranny and began to blame him for all the crimes of kings past. He was often called Louis Capet, a reference to Hugh Capet, the founder of a French dynasty 700 years before his time. He also was called Louis le Dernier, which is French for Louis the Last. This one came true when he was tried for treason and executed in 1593, ending the French absolutist monarchy.

35. Empress Maria Theresa

The first and only female head of the Habsburg dynasty. She was archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia and the mother of_the  
infamous Marie Antoinette. She also became
Holy Roman Empress when her husband was  
elected Holy Roman Emperor. She had 16  
children in all, 11 of them daughters, all of whom she named Marie. When she became the bead of Austria in 1740, it began the War of Austrian Succession. One of the most
successful female monarchs ever, she ruled most of the middle sections of Europe at the height of her power.

36. Marie Antoinette

The youngest daughter of Maria Theresa, she was married to prince Louis of France who became Louis XVI. She was known for her callousness toward the plight of the people in France. When told that the French people had no bread to eat, she is supposed to have responded by saying, "Let them eat cake." That never happened. She actually wrote about the bread shortage: "It is quite certain that in seeing the people who treat us so well despite their own misfortune, we are more obliged than ever to work hard for their happiness. The king seems to understand this truth, as for myself, I know that in my whole life (even if I live for a hundred years) I shall never forget the day of the coronation." She did not lived for 100 years, she was executed on October 16,1793 as part of the French Revolution.

37. Madamme du Barry

A courtesan and prostitute who became mistress of King Louis XV of France. She is largely responsible for the hatred of Marie Antoinette that permeated France. Antoinette refused to talk to her because of her former professions, so she set about deliberately turning Louis XV
against his granddaughter-in-law and ruining her reputation with the people.

38. Estates General of 1789

The first  meeting of the French general assembly, representing all ,but the poorest of the
French citizenry, The first estate is the clergy, the second estate is the nobility and the third estate was all the commoners, headed by the bourgeois. Up until the French Revolution the third estate was responsible for most of the taxes. The fourth estate is a general term that refers to the press.

39. Tennis Court Oath

When the third estate was starting to pick up momentum, Louis XVI shut down their meeting place. They instead met in the title location, pledging an allegiance to each other that would signify the start of the French Revolution on June 17, 1789. In all, 577 people were there from the third estate. That same number is set as the number of members of France's parliament to this day.

40. The Bastille

A French prison at the time of the French revolution. There were seven political prisoners held there when rebels stormed it on July 14, 1789. Iit marked the start of open rebellion against King Louis XVI. July 14 is now France's national holiday.

41. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of citizen

Modeled on the Declaration of Independence, it was adopted on August 26,1789. It outlined the individual rights and the collective rights of the people of France. It's first article begins: "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can be founded only on the common utility." Thomas Jefferson, himself, along with the Marquis de Lafayette, is responsible for its creation.

42. Mirabeau

A French writer, orator and popular statesman. His first name was Honore. He was a hero to the French revolutionaries, but he was actually a moderate who was working secretly for peace with King Louis XVI. He died in 1791 and was buried with great honor. His body was later removed from The Pantheon of Paris when his secret dealings with the King were discovered at the height of the French Revolution.

43. Jean-Paul Marat
        
A French political theorist, physician, and scientist who became best known for his role as a radical journalist and politician during the French Revolution. His journalism became renowned for its fierce tone, uncompromising stance toward the new leaders and institutions of the revolution, and advocacy of basic human rights for the poorest members of society. He was one of the most radical voices of the French Revolution, known for defending the poorest regions of society, which helped make him their unofficial link with the radical, republican Jacobin group that came to power after June 1793. He was assassinated by Charlotte Corday, a Girondist sympathizer, while taking a medicinal bath for his debilitating skin condition. In his death, he became an icon to the Jacobins as a revolutionary martyr, as portrayed in Jacques-Louis David's famous painting of his death. For this assassination, Corday was executed four days later, on 17 July 1793.

44. The Reign of Terror

A period during the French Revolution known for its brutal repression. It last from 1793-1794. Between 18,000 and 40,000 French were executed
including 1300 in the last month. Led by Maximilien Robespierre.

45. Maximilien Robespierre

A key figure in the French Revolution and the leader of the Reign of Terror. His nickname was "The Incorruptible." He was physically unimposing but always dressed immaculately. He is quoted as saying, "Terror is nothing other than prompt, severe, inflexible justice." When his Committee of Public Safety got out of control, he tried _to stop it. Instead, his followers turned on him. He was sent to the guillotine on July 28, 1794. Reportedly, he was executed face up, the only person throughout this period to suffer that fate.


46. Committee of Public Safety

Set up by the National Convention on April 6, 1793, it became the de facto French government
during the Reign of Terror. This committee of
12 members, headed early by Robespierre, was in charge of trials and executions. Robespierre later was turned on and executed by the committee.

47. Jacobins

Members of the a namesake club at the time of the French Revolution from 1789-1794. It's members made up the first Committee of Public Safety. The word has become synonymous with ruthless totalitarianism in the name of democracy.

48. Girondists

Members of a political group operating in France from 1791 to 1795 during the French Revolution. They were active within the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. They were part of the Jacobin movement, though not every one of them was a member of the Jacobin Club. They campaigned for the end of the monarchy but then resisted the spiraling momentum of the Revolution. They came into conflict with The Mountain (Montagnards), a radical faction within the Jacobin Club. This conflict eventually led to their fall and their mass execution, the beginning of the Reign of Terror. They comprised a group of loosely affiliated individuals rather than an organized political party.
    49. Romanticism

An artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate period from 1800 to 1850. It was characterized by its emphasis on emotion and individualism as well as glorification of all the past and nature, preferring the medieval rather than the classical. It was partly a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, the aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment, and the scientific rationalization of nature. The movement emphasized intense emotion as an authentic source of aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on such emotions as apprehension, horror and terror, and awe.

50. Casper David Friedrich

Living from 1774-1840, he was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscapes which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning mists, barren trees or Gothic ruins. His primary interest as an artist was the contemplation of nature, and his often symbolic and anti-classical work seeks to convey a subjective, emotional response to the natural world.

He once said of art: “The artist should not only paint what he sees before him, but also what he sees in himself. If, however, he sees nothing within him, then he should also refrain from painting what he sees before him. Otherwise his pictures will be like those folding screens behind which one expects to find only the sick or the dead. “

51. J.M.W. Turner

Living from 1775-1851, he was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolorist and printmaker, whose style can be said to have laid the foundation for Impressionism. Although he was considered a controversial figure in his day, he is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivaling history painting. Particularly, his Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway seems a gateway toward impressionism. In addition, he didn’t shy away from political causes, painting The Slave Ship in 1840, showing slaves who had been tossed overboard in a storm so that the owners could collect insurance on them.

52. John Constable
        
The English landscape painter who once wrote, “I should paint my own places best.” This precept guided his career, as he developed a unique style combining objective studies of nature with a deeply personal vision of the countryside round his boyhood home in paintings such as The Cornfield. While most landscape artists of the day traveled extensively in search of picturesque or sublime scenery, he never left England. His name is so closely associated with his native Stour Valley that the area is sometimes referred to as “Constable country.”

53. Raft of the Medusa

A major work in French 19th-century painting, generally regarded as an icon of Romanticism. It depicts an event whose human and political aspects greatly interested its artist Theodore Géricault: the wreck of a French frigate off the coast of Senegal in 1816, with over 150 soldiers on board. The painter researched the story in detail and made numerous sketches before deciding on his definitive composition, which illustrates the hope of rescue. Géricault drew his inspiration from the account of two survivors of the Medusa – a French Royal Navy frigate that set sail in 1816 to colonize Senegal. It was captained by an officer of the Ancien Régime who had not sailed for over twenty years and who ran the ship aground on a sandbank. Due to the shortage of lifeboats, those who were left behind had to build a raft for 150 souls – a construction that drifted away on a bloody 13-day odyssey that was to save only 10 lives. The disaster of the shipwreck was made worse by the brutality and cannibalism that ensued. Géricault decided to represent the vain hope of the shipwrecked sailors: the rescue boat is visible on the horizon—but sails away without seeing them. The whole composition is oriented toward this hope in a rightward ascent culminating in a black figure, the figurehead of the boat. The painting stands as a synthetic view of human life abandoned to its fate.

54. Eugene Delacroix

An artist, who lived from 1798-1863, greatly influenced by Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa. Generally considered as the leader of the Romantic school. He also found inspiration from Lord Byron, with whom he shared a strong identification with the "forces of the sublime", of nature in often violent action. However, he was given to neither sentimentality nor bombast, and his Romanticism was that of an individualist. In the words of Baudelaire, he “was passionately in love with passion, but coldly determined to express passion as clearly as possible.”

55. Liberty Leading the People

The Paris uprising of July 27, 28, and 29, 1830, known as the Trois Glorieuses ("Three Glorious Days"), was initiated by the liberal republicans for violation of the Constitution by the Second Restoration government. Charles X, the last Bourbon king of France, was overthrown and replaced by Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans. Eugene Delacroix, who witnessed the uprising, perceived it as a modern subject for a painting; the resulting work reflects the same romantic fervor he had applied to Massacre at Chios, a painting inspired by the Greek war of independence.  His emotional temperament largely explains the force of his portrayal of the recent explosion of rage on the streets of Paris.
The allegory of Liberty is personified by a young woman of the people wearing the Phrygian cap, her curls escaping onto her neck. Vibrant, fiery, rebellious, and victorious, she evokes the Revolution of 1789, the sans-culotte, and popular sovereignty. In her raised right hand is the red, white, and blue flag, a symbol of struggle that unfurls toward the light like a flame. Liberty wears a yellow dress reminiscent of classical drapery, held in at the waist by a belt whose ends float at her side. It has slipped below her breasts, revealing the underarm hair considered vulgar by classical artists who decreed that a goddess's skin should be smooth. The erotic realism of her nudity recalls the ancient winged victories. She stands noble and resolute, her body illuminated on the right, cutting a distinct figure among the men as she turns her head to spur them on to final victory. Her dark left side stands out against a plume of smoke. Her weight is on her bare left foot, visible below her dress. She may be an allegory, but this is a real battle, and she is caught up in the heat of the moment. The infantry gun with bayonet (1816 model) in her left hand gives her a contemporary look and a certain credibility.

56. Francisco Goya

A great Spanish painter, who lived from 1746-1828, he was called “the last great painter in whose art thought and observation were balanced and combined to form a faultless unity". Tthe extent to which he was a Romantic is a complex question. In Spain, there was still a struggle to introduce the values of the Enlightenment, in which he saw himself as a participant. The demonic and anti-rational monsters thrown up by his imagination are only superficially similar to those of the Gothic fantasies of northern Europe, and in many ways he remained wedded to the classicism and realism of his training, as well as looking forward to the Realism of the later 19th century. But he, more than any other artist of the period, exemplified the Romantic values of the expression of the artist's feelings and his personal imaginative world. He also shared with many of the Romantic painters a more free handling of paint, emphasized in the new prominence of the brushstroke and impasto, which tended to be repressed in neoclassicism under a self-effacing finish. After he went deaf in 1793, his work became darker and more pessimistic.

    57. The Third of May 1808

Completed by Francisco Goya in 1814, it now resides in the Prado, the national museum of Spain in Madrid. The painting's content, presentation, and emotional force secure its status as a groundbreaking, archetypal image of the horrors of war. Although it draws on many sources from both high and popular art, it marks a clear break from convention. Diverging from the traditions of Christian art and traditional depictions of war, it has no distinct precedent, and is acknowledged as one of the first paintings of the modern era. Goya, who was the court painter of Spain before, during and after the occupation of Spain by Napoleon’s brother Joseph, is somewhat seeking redemption through this work. In order to keep his position, he had to swear an oath of loyalty to Joseph Bonaparte during his occupation of Spain, and Goya certainly wanted to establish himself back on the side of France.

58. Arc de Triomphe

Though Romanticism did not have as big an effect on sculpture as it did on art, music and literature, this Romantic piece stands out as one of the most important architectural monuments in France. The world's largest triumphal arch, it forms the backdrop for an impressive urban ensemble in Paris. The monument surmounts the hill of Chaillot at the center of a star-shaped configuration of 12 radiating avenues. It is the climax of a vista seen the length of the Champs Elysées from the smaller Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in the Tuileries gardens, and from the Obélisque de Luxor in the place de la Concorde.
In 1806, Napoleon I conceived of a triumphal arch patterned after those of ancient Rome and dedicated to the glory of his imperial armies. The structure was designed by Jean François Thérèse Chalgrin (1739-1811), completed in 1833 and inaugurated in 1836 by the French king, Louis-Philippe. Its deceptively simple design and immense size, 49.5 m (162 ft) in height, mark it unmistakably as a product of late 18th-century romantic neoclassicism.

59. Hudson River School

America’s first true artistic fraternity. Its name was coined to identify a group of New York City-based landscape painters that emerged about 1850 under the influence of the English émigré Thomas Cole (1801–1848) and flourished until about the time of the Centennial. Because of the inspiration exerted by his work, Cole is usually regarded as the “father” or “founder” of the school, though he himself played no special organizational or fostering role except that he was the teacher of Frederic Edwin Church
(1826–1900). Along with Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902), Church was the most successful painter of the school until its decline. After Cole’s death in 1848, his older contemporary Asher B. Durand (1796–1886) became the acknowledged leader of the New York landscape painters; in 1845, he rose to the presidency of the National Academy of Design, the reigning art institution of the period, and, in 1855–56, published a series of “Letters on Landscape Painting” which codified the standard of idealized naturalism that marked the school’s production. The New York landscape painters were not only stylistically but socially coherent. Most belonged to the National Academy, were members of the same clubs, especially the Century, and, by 1858, many of them even worked at the same address, the Studio Building on West Tenth Street, the first purpose-built artist workspace in the city. Eventually, several of the artists built homes on the Hudson River. Though the earliest references to the term in the 1870s were disparagingly aimed, the label has never been supplanted and fairly characterizes the artistic body, its New York headquarters, its landscape subject matter, and often literally its subject.

60. Thomas Cole

American Romantic landscape painter who lived from 1801-1848 and was a founder of the Hudson River school. In 1826 he made his home in the village of Catskill, New York, on the western bank of the Hudson River. From there he frequently journeyed through the Northeast, primarily on foot, making pencil studies of the landscape. He used these sketches to compose paintings in his studio during the winter. One of his most effective landscape paintings, The Ox-Bow (1846), was the result of pencil studies that he made in Massachusetts. His scenes of the Hudson River valley, reverently recorded, echo the loneliness and mystery of the North American forests. He could paint direct and factual landscapes recorded in minute detail, but he was also capable of producing grandiose and dramatic imaginary vistas using bold effects of light and chiaroscuro. When the human figure appears in his works, it is always subordinate to the majesty of the surrounding landscape.

61. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Born in Salzburg and spending much of his adult life in Vienna, he lived just 35 years from 17756-1791 near the end of the classical era, but many consider him to be the greatest composer to ever live. At the age of four he could learn a piece of music in half an hour. At five he was playing the clavier incredibly well. At six he began composing, writing his first symphonies at the age of eight. He toured the country with his father Leopold, giving up much of his childhood. He spent to bulk of his adult life at the court of Emperor Joseph II in Vienna, where he wrote much of his great music. Amongst the must-know works by him are: Eine Kleine Nacht-Musik (A Little Night Music), Allegro (Symphony No. 40), The Marriage of Figaro, Ronda Alla Turca (Piano Sonata No. 11), Jupiter (Symphony No. 41), The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni and his Requiem.

62. Salieri

A minor composer who lived from 1750-1825, who spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Hapsburg Monarchy. His music fell out of his favor through the centuries since his life. He is most know today as the central figure of the Peter Shaffer play Amadeus, and the subsequent movie based on that play that won an Oscar for the Best Picture of 1984. In that work, he is a bitter rival of Mozart’s, who may have brought about Mozart’s death. Decades after Mozart’s death, a rumor did start about Salieri poisoning him, and it is this rumor that Shaffer gives voice to in his play.

63. Franz Joseph Haydn

Living from 132-1809, he was among the creators of the fundamental genres of classical music, and his influence upon later composers is immense. His most celebrated pupil was Ludwig van Beethoven, and his musical form casts a huge shadow over the music of subsequent composers such as Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms. Over the course of his 106 symphonies, the Austrian became the principal architect of the classical style of music. Perhaps his best known work is his “Surprise Symphony” (No. 94).

    64. Ludwig von Beethoven

A German composer and the predominant musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. He was baptized on December 17, 1770, in Bonn, Germany. He was an innovator, widening the scope of sonata, symphony, concerto and quartet, and combining vocals and instruments in a new way. His personal life was marked by a struggle against deafness, and some of his most important works were composed during the last 10 years of his life, when he was quite unable to hear. He died in 1827 at the age of 56. In all he had nine symphonies. He composed some of the most memorable music ever, including his Moonlight Sonata, Pathetique Sonata, Eroica Symphony (his third, that had originally been dedicated to Napoleon, his Fifth Symphony, Fur Elise, and his Choral Symphony (the ninth). He only composed one opera Fidelio and his sixth symphony, though not as important as some of the others, is known as the Pastoral Symphony.

65. Franz Schubert

Considered the last of the classical composers and one of the first romantic ones. His  music is notable for its melody and harmony. Born on January 31, 1797, in Himmelpfortgrund, Austria, he is the son of a schoolmaster, received a thorough musical education and won a scholarship to boarding school. Although he was never rich, the composer's work gained recognition and popularity, noted for bridging classical and romantic composition. He died in 1828 in Vienna, Austria. He never completed his eighth symphony, which ironically became his most famous, dubbed “The Unfinished Symphony”.

66. Giuseppe Verdi

An Italian composer who was born in Italy in 1813, prior to Italian unification. He produced many successful operas, including La Traviata, Falstaff and Aida, and became known for his skill in creating melody and his profound use of theatrical effect. Additionally, his rejection of the traditional Italian opera for integrated scenes and unified acts earned him fame. He is considered the most successful Italian composer of the Romantic era. He died on January 27, 1901, in Milan, Italy.

67. Hector Berlioz

He was born in France on December 11, 1803. He turned his back on a career in medicine to follow his passion for music, and went on to compose works that showcased the innovativeness and search for expression that were hallmarks of Romanticism. His well-known pieces include the Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts. At the age of 65, he died in Paris on March 8, 1869. His Symphonie fantastique was rumored to be partially written while on opium, and n general was designed to impress the Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson. It was also based on Thomas De Quincey’s Confessions of an English Opium Eater.  He also composed a Symphonie dramatique based on Romeo and Juliet, though it is often just referred to as Romeo et Juliette.

    68. Frederich Chopin

Considered Poland’s greatest composer, he focused his efforts on piano composition and was a strong influence on composers who followed him. Born March 1, 1810, in Poland, he grew up in a middle-class family. He published his first composition at age seven and began performing one year later. In 1832, he moved to Paris, socialized with high society and was known as an excellent piano teacher. His piano compositions were lightly influential. He died on October 17, 1849, in Paris, France. His most famous pieces are his Prelude and his Nocturne.

69. Franz Liszt

A Hungarian pianist and composer of enrmous influence and originality. He was renowned in Europe during the Romantic movement. He was born on Oct. 22, 1811 in Raiding, Hungary, though that town is now in Austria. His father taught him to play piano. By the time he was nine years old, he was performing in concert halls. As an adult, he toured extensively throughout Europe. He had an affair and children with Marie diAgoult, and later lived with Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein. By his death, he had written more than 700 compositions. He was the first piano “rock star” virtuoso, thrilling audiences and capturing the hearts of women with his exciting playing.


70. Felix Mendelssohn

German Romantic composer, pianiwst and conductor, he founded the Leipzig Conservatory of Music in 1843. He was born on February 3, 1809, in Hamburg, Germany. At age 9, he made his public debut in Berlin. In 1819, he joined the Singakademie music academy and began composing non stop. At Singakademie, he also became a conductor, but continued to compose prolifically. He died on November 4, 1847 in Leipzig. Among his most famous works are Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1826), Italian Symphony (1833), a violin concerto (1844), two piano concerti (1831, 1837), the oratorio Elijah (1846) and several pieces of chamber music. Though most people know him for the Wedding March he composed for the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

71. Johannes Brahams

A German composer and pianist who wrote symphonies, concerti, chamber music, piano works and choral compositions. Born in Hamburg, Germany on May 7, 1833, he was the great master of symphonic and sonata style in the second half of the 19th century, He can be viewed as the protagonist of the Classical tradition of Joseph Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. He is probably best known for his Lullaby.

72. Richard Wagner

Best known for creating severl complex operas, including Tristan and Isolde and The Ring Cycle, as well as for his anti-Semitic writings, which later made him popular with Adolf Hitler. Born in Germany on May 22, 1813, he went on to become one of the world’s most influential and controversial composers. His operas were epic. The four-part Ring Cycle alone is 18 hours. He would go so far as to have giant dragons appear on stage. He had a tumultuous love life, which involved scandalous affairs and he died of a heart attack in Venice on Feb. 13, 1883.