You probably have something else in mind when thinking of a Romantic painting. Maybe a kissing couple in a beautiful English garden was what you were pictured. However, this Abbey in an Oak Forest, by Caspar David Friedrich, 1810, captures several diffferent Romantic elements at once: By including ancient ruins, as still found scattered across Europe's landscape, romantics sought to show the fragility of man. Friedrich loved to depict scenes in wintertime; the stark leafless trees and gray pall evoked that sense of melancholy, yearning, and mystery that Romantics so prized.

Romanticism in art can be recognized through the identification of theme, mood and design. The style of painting emphasizes emotion over reality and feelings over science. Paintings are noted for their clashing designs and vivid use of colour. They also drew upon millennia of mythology and religions. The key feature of romanticism in art is the elevation of imaginiation over reality.

What makes a painting a Romantic painting?   

 Assignment 3

• Familiarize yourself with the historical background of Théodore Géricault's painting The Raft of the Medusa.
• Look at this wonderful website and explore the Raft of the Medusa and answer the questions
• print the document and put it in your file
• 'Visit' the Tate in London (go to 17-18th century) and include at least 3 Romantic paintings you enjoy in your file