Romanticism and Art (World of Art) [Paperback]

William Vaughan (Author), William Vaughn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1994 | Series: World of Art

In the age of revolutions, at the end of the 18th century, the mental and spiritual life of Europe and North America began to undergo a historic and irreversible change. The ideas of spontaneity, direct expression and natural feeling transformed the arts, encouraging artists to explore the extremes in human nature, from heroism to insanity and despair. Previously published as "Romantic Art" and now revised, William Vaughan's study analyses the achievement of the leading artists of the age - masters such as Goya, Blake, Gericault, Turner and Delacroix - and sets in context a host of fascinating figures in painting, sculpture and architecture: Palmer, Runge, Soane, Gros, Overbeck, Schinkel, Flaxman, Pugin, Bingham and many more. The result is an account of a dramatic and contradictory artistic epoch.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; Rep Sub edition (September 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500202753
• ISBN-13: 978-0500202753
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #748,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Romantic

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad book if you like Art History, June 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Romanticism and Art (World of Art) (Paperback)

This book, as the title suggests deals with art from the Romantic period. The good points in the book are: it gives detailed and informative commentary on artists, sculptors, and architects, paintings, sculptures and buildings of the late 18th and 19th centuries. There are 215 illustations. The book puts the artists and their works in the context of history. The bad things in the book are: only 21 illustrations are in color. This may not seem that bad but color in Romantic paintings is important. The book has many illustrations of Turner's paintings, but if the viewer never saw them in color it is very difficult to get the whole meaning of the works. If the paintings were meant to be viewed in black and white they wouldn't be painted in color. That is why I gave it 4 stars. I recomend ART IN EUROPE 1700-1830 by Matthew Craske. It is cheaper, more informative, has better illustrations, and covers more material.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-organized Explanations of Romanticism in Painting, March 5, 2001

By 

Renee Thorpe (Karangasem, Bali) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Romanticism and Art (World of Art) (Paperback)

This compact and well-illustrated book explains the roots and branches of Romanticism in painting. Not much said about sculpture and architecture, but they are touched upon, and Vaughan certainly places Romantic art in its time. Romantic writings and philosophy are nicely and liberally quoted to fully illustrate the era.

Not a coffee table book. This is a medium weight paperback for reading, and it is not difficult to understand. Meaty and complete enough for undergraduate level research, but well-written for the humble art buff who may be on his or her way to the Louvre, the Tate, the Prado or other museum with some collection of Romantic work (late 18th C through the mid 19th C).

Dedicated researchers will want additional references, but the average person who just wants to understand this fascinating art movement need not go further. Very nicely written.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Intro to Romantic Art and Thought, May 20, 2004

By 

Ben Capozzi (VA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Romanticism and Art (World of Art) (Paperback)

I like very much the books in the Thames & Hudson World of Art series, and this one is no exception. It's a very nice survey, with a LOT of information, not just about the art, but also about the ideas of the age that shaped it. One good book seems to lead me to another, and now I find myself thirsty for a better understanding of the philosophies and the history of the 18th and 19th centuries. The author is wide-ranging in his coverage of Romanticism throughout Europe and America, and his efforts to trace the roots of ideas and experiences that inspired this art is much-appreciated. A previous reviewer felt that the book gives short shrift to 3D arts, but there's enough here about architecture for my taste. As for sculpture, the author explains that the general idea of the time was that sculpture was wholly incapable of conveying the great Romantic notions, and so many sculptors seemed to just "sit this movement out." (I think perhaps waiting for Rodin) The format of these books demands mostly black and white reproductions, which does detract from the impact of much of the work, but, for around $10 I'm not complaining. As an introduction to this difficult and contentious movement, this book worked just fine for me.