ROMANTICISM

by Hugh Honour ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 25, 1979

Another survey of Romantic art? Yes, but a very good one, rich in well-placed erudition, intellectual subtlety, and imaginative range. A sequel to Honour's Neo-classicism (1968), Romanticism necessarily departs from the straightforward stylistic analysis employed in the earlier book to embrace the complex social contexts and emotional purposes of Romantic art. Dwelling on the principal Romantic themes as expressed in the visual arts, Honour stresses the underlying preoccupation with subjective sensibility in place of formal artistic style. This preoccupation--partly a reaction against 18th-century academic aesthetics and partly a manifestation of the spirit of political revolution--gave rise to the many disparate appearances of Romantic art and life; and those appearances caused early confusion and controversy (which continues still) over the meaning of ""Romanticism."" Honour appropriately begins with this controversy and keeps it close to hand as he scrutinizes the Romanticists' artistic theories and practice. He shows nature becoming a landscape of symbols; sculpture and architecture aspiring to be ""frozen music""; the sense of history and the spirit of liberty intensifying to fire both aesthetic and social ideals; and the artist becoming increasingly conscious of himself and his metier, and often turning toward mysterious subject matter. Readers familiar with Romanticism will find nothing new here, but they will encounter an uncommon wealth of visual and verbal illustration lucidly synthesized. As a portrait of Romanticism, the book offers markedly more than, say, Kenneth Clark's Romantic Rebellion, which focuses on the visual arts as such.

Pub Date: July 25, 1979

ISBN: 0064300897

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1979

Categories: NONFICTION