2. Romanticism: Nature and Genius
• Romanticism was a reaction to
Enlightenment, Neoclassicism, and
industrialization and was driven by
strong emotions in time of great
political and economic change.
• Surrounded by urban growth, German
Caspar Friedrich (Wanderer, 1818) and
British John Constable (Cornfield, 1826)
adored nature.
Wandering Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich, 1818
3. John Constable
The Cornfield, 1826
Romanticism:
Nature and Genius
• Surrounded by
urban growth,
German Caspar
Friedrich
(Wanderer,
1818) and British
John Constable
(Cornfield, 1826)
adored nature.
4. Romanticism: Nature and Genius
• Rejecting reason, Swiss Henry Fuseli (Nightmare, 1781) and British William
Blake (Great Red Dragon, 1808) embraced the supernatural.
Nightmare
by Fuseli,
1781
Great Red
Dragon by
Blake, 1808
5. Romanticism:
Nature and Genius
• Amidst the
revolutionary
storm, French
Théodore
Géricault
portrayed
ghastly
survivors of
tragic shipwreck
(Raft of the
Medusa, 1819).
Raft of the Medusa by Géricault, 1819
6. Romanticism: Nature and Genius
• Within the emerging mass society, German Ludwig
van Beethoven (Ninth Symphony, 1828)
epitomized frenzied individual artistic genius.
• Polish Frédéric Chopin (Minute Waltz, 1847) was
hailed as a genius upon arrival in Paris in 1831.
"Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's 9th Symphony
Frédéric Chopin - Minute Waltz
7. Romanticism—History,
Myth, and Wonder
• In a nationalistic
era, French painter
Eugene Delacroix
(Liberty Leading
the People, 1830)
and Russian
composer Pyotr
Tchaikovsky (1812
Overture, 1880)
celebrated great
national historic
moments.Liberty Leading the People
Eugène Delacroix, 1830
Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture
8. Romanticism—
History, Myth, and
Wonder
• In architecture,
the Gothic style
British Houses of
Parliament and
Neo-Romanesque
style
Neuschwanstein
Castle harkened
back to Middle
Ages.
9. Romanticism—
History, Myth, and
Wonder
• In architecture,
the Gothic style
British Houses of
Parliament and
Neo-Romanesque
style
Neuschwanstein
Castle harkened
back to Middle
Ages.
10. Romanticism—History, Myth, and Wonder
• German opera composer Richard Wagner (Ring Cycle, 1869–
1876) drew upon mythic Germanic sagas for inspiration.
“Ride of the Valkyries”
from The Valkyrie by Wagner
13. Romanticism—Literature
• Walter Scott (Ivanhoe, 1819), Alexandre Dumas (Three Musketeers, 1844),
and Victor Hugo (Les Misérables, 1862) wrote historical epics.
16. Realism—Literature
• Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist, 1837; Great
Expectations,1861), George Eliot (Silas Marner, 1861), and
Thomas Hardy (Jude the Obscure, 1895) critiqued class
differences in British Victorian society.
17. The Second Industrial Revolution—Biology
• Charles Darwin proposed natural selection in Origin of Species (1859).
18. Social Darwinism
• Herbert Spencer (Social Organism, 1860) applied
the theory to individuals within society and
between nations.
Herbert Spencer –
Social Darwinism (1860)
19. Social Darwinism
• Francis Galton
(Hereditary Genius,
1869) claimed
intellectually inferior
people were out-
reproducing more
intelligent superior
individuals. He
suggested eugenics to
encourage the “most
fit” to breed and
discourage the “less fit”
from having children.
20. Social Darwinism
• Alfred Ploetz
founded
German
Society for
Racial Hygiene
(1905) to
regain “purity”
of white Nordic
race through
selective
breeding and
sterilization of
the “impure.”
The allegedly higher number of children of "inferior"
and the resulting deterioration of the genetic heritage
should justify government intervention in the
reproduction. (From: Otto Helmut, People in Danger,
The Birth Decline and its Consequences for
Germany, Munich / Berlin 1938)
21. Modern Philosophy
• German Friedrich Nietzsche (Thus Spoke
Zarathustra, 1883–1885) upturned Western
religion, morality, philosophy.
• He deplored weak, pitiful Christian herd-
mentality and celebrated genius individuals
who were able to live by their own principles
as Supermen driven by will to power.
Frederich Nietzsche:
“God is dead.”
“I teach you the Superman.”
22. Modern Philosophy
• French Georges Sorel (Reflections on Violence, 1908) supported a violent
working class revolution. He attacked data-driven science as an “odious
insult to human dignity.” He emphasized the inspiring power of myth as the
driver of human action.
23. Christianity in an Age of Progress
• Christianity was rocked by the
Enlightenment and new
findings in history,
anthropology, geology, and
biology that challenged biblical
understanding.
• Urbanization, liberalism, and
socialism reduced church
attendance and religious
influence.
The Crystal Palace
Dinosaurs (1854)
were the first
dinosaur sculptures
in the world.
24. Christianity in an Age of Progress
• Karl Marx called religion the “opium of the people” giving false hope.
26. Psychology
• Austrian Sigmund
Freud pioneered
psychoanalysis and
described the
relationship of ego, id,
and superego in the
human psyche.
• His Interpretation of
Dreams (1900)
explored the
unconscious mind and
Oedipus complex. Sigmund Freud
28. Modern Physics
• Classical mechanics was unable
to explain new discoveries,
which led to the development
of modern physics to describe
atomic scale and velocities
approaching light speed.
29. Modern Physics
• 1895: German Wilhelm
Röntgen discovered x-rays.
First medical X-ray by
Wilhelm Röntgen of his wife
Anna Bertha Ludwig's hand
A man
receives a
chest X-ray
at Professor
Menard's
radiology
department
at the Cochin
hospital,
Paris, 1914.
31. Modern Physics
• 1900: German
Max Planck
hypothesized
quantum theory
to explain
subatomic behavior.
32. Modern Physics
• 1905: Albert Einstein postulated
special theory of relativity to explain
space-time relations. His general
theory of relativity (1911) explored the
impact of gravity on space-time.
E = mc2
Albert Einstein
33. Modern Art—Music
• Gioachino Rossini (William Tell, 1829), Giuseppi Verdi (Aida, 1871), and
Giacomo Puccini (Madame Butterfly, 1904) wrote popular Italian opera.
Finale to
Rossini's William
Tell Overture
“Triumphal
March” from
Verdi’s Aida
(start at 2:31
for most
famous part)
“One Fine
Day” from
Puccini’s
Madama
Butterfly
34. Modern Art—Music
• Johann Strauss Jr. (Blue Danube, 1867) was the Austrian Waltz King.
The Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss II
35. Modern Art—Music
• Edvard Grieg (Peer Gynt, 1876) provoked Norwegian nationalism.
Jean Sibelius (Finlandia, 1899) inspired Finnish nationalism.
“Morning” from Peer Gynt
by Edvard Grieg
Finlandia by Jean Sibelius
36. Modern Art—Music
• Gilbert and Sullivan (Mikado,
1885) wrote comic British operas.
Original poster for
HMS Pinafore, 1878
Original poster for
Pirates of Penzance, 1880
“Three Little Maids From School
Are We” from The Mikado
“I Am the Very Model of a Modern
Major-General” from Pirates of
Penzance
“A British Tar” from HMS Pinafore
37. Modern Art—Music
• Claude Debussy’s Impressionistic La Mer
(1903–1905) suggested a moody French sea.
Cliffs and Sailboats at Pourville (1882) by Claude Monet Pourville, Sunset (1882) by Claude Monet
La Mer (The Sea) by Debussy
38. Modern Art—Music
• Igor Stravinsky's
Russian ballet
Rite of Spring (1913)
sparked a riot.
The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky
40. Modern Art—Photography and Film
• The French Lumière Brothers made the first motion
picture (1895). Train Pulling into a Station "caused fear,
terror, even panic" in the audience.
Auguste & Louis Lumière: L' Arrivée d'un train à La Ciotat
41. Modern Art—Photography and Film
• French Georges Méliès made the fantastic Trip to the Moon (1902).
Le Voyage dans la lune, 1902
42. Modern Art—
Painting
• Impressionism:
Claude Monet
(Impression,
Sunrise, 1872) and
Pierre-Auguste
Renoir (Dance at
Le Moulin de la
Galette, 1874)
painted moments
of outdoor leisure
in lively colors.
Impression, Sunrise, 1872 , Claude Monet
43. Modern Art—
Painting
• Impressionism:
Claude Monet
(Impression,
Sunrise, 1872) and
Pierre-Auguste
Renoir (Dance at
Le Moulin de la
Galette, 1874)
painted moments
of outdoor leisure
in lively colors.
Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette, 1874, Pierre-Auguste Renoir
46. Modern Art—Painting
• Cubism: Spanish Pablo Picasso
(Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,
1907) and French Georges
Braque (Guitar, 1909–1910)
analyzed shapes.
Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907
47. Modern Art—Painting
• Expressionism: Norwegian Edvard Munch
(Scream, 1893) and Russian Wassily
Kandinsky (Blue Rider Almanac, 1912)
provoked emotion.
Edvard Munch, Scream, 1893
48. Modern Art—Painting
• Expressionism: Norwegian Edvard Munch
(Scream, 1893) and Russian Wassily
Kandinsky (Blue Rider Almanac, 1912)
provoked emotion.
Wassily Kandinsky, On White II (1923)
49. Development of Popular Leisure
• 1759–1852: The British Museum, London; Uffizi, Florence; Louvre, Paris;
Prado, Madrid; and Hermitage, St. Petersburg, were opened to the public.
50. Development of Popular Leisure
• Harrod’s in London (1834), Bainbridge’s in Newcastle (1838), and Le Bon
Marché in Paris (1838) among first department stores.
52. Development of Popular Leisure
• 1849: First working class music hall opened in
London. Over 500 by 1880s. Dance halls were all
the rage by 1900.
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec,
Au Moulin Rouge , 1891
53. Development of Popular Leisure
• 1863: The working class enjoyed beach
holidays at Blackpool and Brighton. Blackpool
Promenade,
c. 1898
54. Amateur and Professional Sports
• 1888: The first professional football (soccer) team competed. Teams of
factory workers eventually became Arsenal, West Ham, and Manchester
United. Over 100,000 spectators watched British Soccer Cup Final in 1901.
The 1901 FA Cup Final Sheffield Utd vs. Tottenham Hotspur
was the first game in the World to attract a six figure crowd.
The Preston North End team that won
the Football League title in 1888-89.
55. Amateur and Professional Sports
• 1860: First British Open golf tournament.
Willie Park, Sr. was a four-time
winner of the British Open.
57. Amateur and Professional Sports
• 1877: The first Wimbledon tennis tournament
was held.
Drawing of a
Lawn Tennis
court as originally
designed in 1874.
Tennis doubles
final at 1896
Olympic Games
58. The Rising Standard of Living—
La Belle Époque
• The working class standard of living
only rose in late 1800s.
• Meat consumption declined between
1780 and 1840, and tea, sugar, and
coffee remained semiluxuries.
• Adulterated food—alum added to
bread, milk diluted, lead substituted
for pepper—led to the British Food
and Drug Act (1875).
A Bill-poster's Fantasy (1855) by John Perry explores the
endless diversity of big-city entertainment.
59. The Rising Standard of Living—
La Belle Époque
• 1850–1900: Wages increased 2/3
in Britain and 1/3 in Germany, and
consumer prices dropped 6.5%.
• Consumers could purchase sewing
machines, clocks, and electric
lights.
• Bread and wine consumption
increased 50%, beer 100%, spirits
300%, and sugar and coffee 400%.
A French poster from 1894
that captures the vibrant
spirit of the Belle Époque.
Wine advertisement by
Alphonse Mucha, 1898.
60. The Rising Standard of Living—Advertising
• 1861: Textile merchant Pryce Pryce-Jones
began mail order catalog exploiting new
British national railway system for shipping.
61. The Rising Standard of Living—Advertising
• 1880s: Pictorial ads appeared in British illustrated magazines. “Father of
Advertising” Thomas Barratt promoted Pears’ Soap.
62. The Rising Standard of Living—Advertising
• 1890s: Art Nouveau ad posters by Jules
Chéret, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and
Alphonse Mucha were popular in Italy,
France, and Germany.
63. The Rising Standard of Living—Labor-saving Devices
• French Nicolas Appert preserved food in glass bottles (1810) for Napoleon.
British Bryan Donkin’s tin canning factory (1813) supplied the Royal Navy.
Canned food was a middle class status symbol until the can opener was
invented (1855). Milk pasteurization began in the 1900s.
64. The Rising Standard of Living—Labor-saving Devices
• 1850s: Sewing machines reduced time to make man’s dress shirt from 14
hours to 1 hour allowing much larger wardrobes.
65. The Rising Standard of Living—Labor-saving Devices
• Hot water heaters (1868) and electric appliances like irons (1882), ovens
(1891), toasters (1893), vacuums (1901), washing machines (1904),
refrigerators (1911), and dishwashers (1913) saved labor.
66. The Rising Standard of Living—La Belle Époque
• The French called the late 19th to early 20th century La Belle Époque
(Beautiful Era).
World’s Fair in Paris, 1900
