Core characteristics of style
Emotion First: Romantic hand-painted oil paintings place emotional expression at the top priority. Through their works, painters directly express their innermost feelings and reveal the emotional waves deep in their hearts. This kind of emotion can be passionate love, profound patriotism, or the persistent pursuit of freedom and ideals. For instance, in Delacrova’s “Liberty Leading the People”, the Statue of Liberty holds a tricolor flag, leading the people to forge ahead bravely. With passionate brushstrokes and intense colors, the painter vividly presents the longing for freedom and justice, allowing the audience to deeply feel the strong yearning for freedom of the people in that era.
Subjective imagination: Painters do not confine themselves to the objective depiction of reality but fully exert their subjective imagination to exaggerate, deform and reconstruct it. They often incorporate elements such as myths, legends and dreams into their works, creating a fantasy world that transcends reality. Like Friedrich’s “The Wanderer on the Misty Sea”, in the picture, the figure stands alone on the mountain top, overlooking the misty valley. Through this surreal scene, the painter expresses profound thoughts on the relationship between humans and nature, as well as between humans and the universe, evoking the audience’s boundless imagination about life and the world.
Characteristics of color application
Vivid and intense: Romantic oil paintings feature bright and intense colors, emphasizing the contrast and conflict of colors to enhance the visual impact and emotional expressiveness of the picture. Painters often use highly saturated colors, such as red, orange, and yellow, to express passionate and unrestrained emotions. Cool tones such as blue and purple are used to create a mysterious and melancholic atmosphere. For instance, in Rubens’ works, the use of color is extremely bold. He is adept at using strong color contrasts to shape character images and express the atmosphere of scenes, making the pictures full of vitality and dynamism.
Symbolic meaning: Color also has rich symbolic meanings in Romantic oil paintings. Different colors represent different emotions and ideas. Painters convey their thoughts through the selection and combination of colors. For example, red often symbolizes love, passion and revolution; Blue symbolizes tranquility, melancholy and mystery. Green symbolizes life, hope and nature. In Delacroix’s “The Massacre of Theo”, the large areas of red and black in the picture symbolize the cruelty and bloodiness of war, bringing a strong visual shock and emotional touch to the audience.
The brushstrokes express the style
Unrestrained and free: The brushstrokes of Romantic hand-painted oil paintings are unrestrained and free. The painters do not pursue delicate and neat depictions, but rather express the forms and textures of objects with bold and unrestrained brushstrokes. The variations in the lightness and heaviness, speed and slowness, and density of the brushstrokes are rich and varied, which can vividly convey the painter’s emotions and creative intentions. For instance, in Turner’s seascapes, the brushstrokes are as unrestrained as a sudden storm, depicting the surging and unpredictable nature of the sea, allowing the audience to seem to feel the howling of the sea breeze and the impact of the waves.
Emphasizing dynamism: To represent the movement and vitality of objects, Romantic painters often employed dynamic brushstrokes. Through techniques such as tilting, twisting and rotating the brushstrokes, they make the objects in the picture present a dynamic beauty. For instance, when depicting the scene of a galloping horse, the painter will use fast and smooth brushstrokes to show the muscle lines and running posture of the horse, allowing the audience to feel the strength and speed of the horse.
Preference for subject selection
History and Mythology: Romantic painters were keen on choosing historical events and mythological legends as their creative themes. Through the reinterpretation of these themes, they expressed their concern for history, culture and the fate of humanity. They often portray historical figures and mythological heroes as images with lofty spirits and great ideals to inspire people’s patriotic enthusiasm and yearning for a better life. For instance, Ingres’ “Ode to Homer” centers on the ancient Greek poet Homer, surrounded by numerous figures from history and mythology. Through the depiction of this subject, the painter expresses his admiration for classical culture and human wisdom.
Natural scenery: Nature holds a significant position in romantic oil paintings. Painters praise the magnificence and wonder of nature, regarding it as the spiritual sustenance and the ultimate destination of the human soul. They often depict natural landscapes such as mountains, rivers, forests and oceans. Through delicate brushstrokes and rich colors, they showcase the beauty and power of nature. Like Constable’s landscape paintings, they depict the natural scenery of the British countryside with delicate brushstrokes and true colors, allowing the audience to feel the tranquility and harmony of nature.
Character emotions: Romantic oil paintings also pay great attention to the portrayal of character emotions. Through delicate expressions, postures and movements, painters reveal the joys, sorrows, anger and happiness in the characters’ hearts. They often depict emotional scenes such as love, family affection and friendship to evoke the audience’s resonance and emotional experience. For instance, in Casserio’s “Venus in Dressing”, Venus gently combs her hair in the picture, and her eyes reveal a kind of serenity and elegance. Through the depiction of this detail, the painter showcases the softness and emotional world of women.
Characteristics of composition form
Full of tension: The composition of Romantic oil paintings often breaks the traditional principles of balance and symmetry, pursuing a visual effect that is full of tension and dynamism. The painter creates a tense and stimulating atmosphere through slanted lines, irregular shapes and strong contrasts, making the picture full of vitality and vigor. For instance, in Goya’s “Shooting the Insurgents on May 3rd”, the characters and objects in the picture are distributed irregularly. The slanted lines and the strong contrast of light and shade enhance the tension and tragic atmosphere of the picture.
Highlighting the main subject: To emphasize the theme and emotional expression of the picture, Romantic painters would employ various composition techniques to stress the main image. They often place the main subject at the center of the picture or in a prominent position, and make the subject stand out more through contrasts in size, color, light and shade, etc. For instance, when depicting heroic figures, painters will portray them as tall and imposing, with the surrounding environment serving as a backdrop to highlight the great image of the heroes.