The Romantic Revolution
A History
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
“A splendidly pithy and provocative introduction to the culture of Romanticism.”—The Sunday Times
“[Tim Blanning is] in a particularly good position to speak of the arrival of Romanticism on the Euorpean scene, and he does so with a verve, a breadth, and an authority that exceed every expectation.”—National Review
From the preeminent historian of Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries comes a superb, concise account of a cultural upheaval that still shapes sensibilities today. A rebellion against the rationality of the Enlightenment, Romanticism was a profound shift in expression that altered the arts and ushered in modernity, even as it championed a return to the intuitive and the primitive. Tim Blanning describes its beginnings in Rousseau’s novel La Nouvelle Héloïse, which placed the artistic creator at the center of aesthetic activity, and reveals how Goethe, Goya, Berlioz, and others began experimenting with themes of artistic madness, the role of sex as a psychological force, and the use of dreamlike imagery. Whether unearthing the origins of “sex appeal” or the celebration of accessible storytelling, The Romantic Revolution is a bold and brilliant introduction to an essential time whose influence would far outlast its age.
“Anyone with an interest in cultural history will revel in the book’s range and insights. Specialists will savor the anecdotes, casual readers will enjoy the introduction to rich and exciting material. Brilliant artistic output during a time of transformative upheaval never gets old, and this book shows us why.”—The Washington Times
“It’s a pleasure to read a relatively concise piece of scholarship of so high a caliber, especially expressed as well as in this fine book.”—Library Journal
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This romp through the origins and history of romanticism concentrates on its far-reaching influence in the arts. Cambridge University cultural historian Blanning (editor of The Oxford History of Europe) acknowledges the impossibility of pinpointing any originating moment for romanticism, which expanded slowly from the mid-18th century; in a somewhat perfunctory concluding chapter, he observes that this revolution is continuing. Despite some 50 pages of notes, this work is lively as well as informative. Blanning's cultural inclination toward continental Europe brings perhaps less familiar figures to the fore. Whereas English and American readers are more accustomed to the works of the Shelleys, Blake, and Byron, among others (all covered here), the intellectual roots of romanticism lie in figures such as Hegel and especially Rousseau. In a conversion experience almost of a Pauline magnitude, as Blanning (and Rousseau himself) describe it, Rousseau came to reject the Enlightenment ideals of science and art as corrupting the human spirit. Blanning covers a full range of romantic expression: painters (Philipp Otto Runge), art historian Winckelmann, writers (Goethe), composers (Beethoven and Wagner), and many others. This book is a fine introduction to the roots of an intellectual movement that is central to our worldview. 8 pages of color photos; 13 b&w photos.
