Classicism vs. Romanticism

            Classicism gets its values from classical antiquity (ancient Greece and Rome).  The 

      rational philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, the controlling of the emotions in Stoic 

      philosophy, the stress on formal education in what we now call the humanities to 

      produce civic virtue (good citizenship).     

            The only values romanticism gets from antiquity are those of Greek tragedians like 

      Euripides and Sophocles with their focus on the disorder that ensues from human frailties.  

      Otherwise, medieval era influences, particularly Gothic, of the magical,  mystical, and 

      mythological (e.g. enchanted forests, gargoyles) are influential.   

The Values Expressed in Classicism and Romanticism 

Note:  A work of art does not have to have all of the listed values to be classical or romantic, it just needs some of them.

Classical Values		Romantic  Values
Objective Reason / Rationality (Mind)		Subjective Emotion / Passion (Heart)
The Art Exhibits:
Simplicity		Complexity
Stillness, Calmness, Serenity		Motion, Energy, Drama
Order, Planning, Design, Balance		Immediacy, Spontaneity, Improvisation
Stability, Endurance, Timelessness		Volatility, Flux, Termination
Restraint, Control		Turbulence, Chaos
The Art Expresses:
Confidence, Optimism		Insecurity, Apprehension, Foreboding
Logical, Sensible, Non-fantastical		The Magical, Mystical, Mysterious, Mythological, Hallucinatory
Society / Civilization Minded		Individual (& Nature Minded)
Most important type of knowledge:
Learned, analyzed knowledge, methodology (e.g. science)		Immediate, reflexive intuition. Genius. Imagination, "Think outside the box."
Man's relationship to nature:
Nature is to be studied / controlled		Nature is to be enjoyed / worshiped

Realism does not stress any of the above values.

Jean-Francois Millet - The Gleaners  (1857)


A list of romantic poets


Locating Beethoven in Art History