The nineteenth-century was agitated by strong social, political and cultural changes caused by events of the late eighteenth century by the Industrial Revolution, which spawned new inventions aimed at solving the technical problems arising from increased production, causing the division of labour and labour. beginning of the specialization of the workforce, and the French Revolution, which fought for a more harmonious society, in which individual rights were respected, this expectation was translated into the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Similarly, artistic activity has become more complex.

One of the first artistic movements to emerge in reaction to eighteenth-century Neoclassicism is Romanticism and historically lies between 1820 and 1850. Romantic artists sought to break free from academic conventions in favour of the free expression of the artist's personality.

The term romantic was first used in England to define the theme of the pastoral and cavalry novels that existed at that time. Romantic meant picturesque: expression of an emotion that is definite and that was brought about by the sight of a landscape.

The term romantic was later adopted in the artistic-philosophical movement Romanticism, which followed the political and philosophical ideas of the century of light (freedom of expression and affirmation of the rights of individuals) and also the ideas of a German movement called - Strürm und Drang. (which had as its main elements feeling and nature).

Features

Cultivation of emotion, fantasy, dream, originality, evasion into exotic worlds where one could fantasize and imagine;

Exaltation of nature;

I like the Middle Ages (because it was the time of the formation of nations);

Defence of nationalist ideals (individual freedom, freedom of the people);

Pantheism (doctrine according to which God is not a personal being distinct from the world, God and the world would be one substance);

Individualism, worldview centred on the feelings of the individual.

Subjectivism, the artist idealizes themes, exaggerating some of their characteristics (for example, the woman is seen as a fragile virgin; the notion of homeland is also idealized).