Although sometimes referred to as an "anti-classical" movement in art, Romanticism is a style that focuses on the artist's individualistic and emotionally processed point of view, and was found to be opposed to the art movement known as Neoclassicism. Although, there were many artists who combined elements of both. Some of the most famous names around this movement that used strong emotions to convey meaning were Francisco de Goya and William Blake. This particular art form became a response to the outgrowth of reason by focusing on imagination and feeling.
It's not hard to see the value in these artists' paintings, and there are many examples of how other artists have influenced each other over time. Because the whole category of romanticism refers more to the trends of artists, poets and philosophers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries than to an artistic movement. While one influenced the other and vice versa more or less equally over time, there are very few areas in modern life that can be said to have remained untouched by the Romantic period, and many agree that it was a pivotal point in the world's development as a whole.
Where the people of the time were overwhelmingly interested in things of a rational or enlightened nature, the Romantic ideal favored intuition instead, and has been the subject of many different characterizations of the movement in intellectual and literary history. There are many different views on how Romanticism influenced the modern world and what place the movement had in the larger picture of history. Some cite Romanticism as the initial moment of modernity, while others think it is the beginning of the resistance to the Age of Enlightenment, and others date the movement as a direct result of the French Revolution, which is completely continuous with the present.
It has been mentioned before that romanticism influences music and literature as well as art, but this is less understated than it might seem at first glance, romanticism is very prominent in the music and literature of this period. As the age moved on, more than a few critics considered composers like Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven to be the three Romantic composers. In literature around the world, the Romantic movement deeply influenced every writer from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to Ayn Rand in the 20th century and many other writers during the time when Romanticism was most prominent.
As Romanticism proved to be a strong influence for many years to come, many critics affirmed that the Romantic period was a fundamental element in the progress of art up to the present day, and that there was hardly any famous artist which was not in part influenced by these powerful periods of artwork and creative intent. This rebellion against the social and political standards of the time was instrumental in moving away from those same standards and created a fresh place from which to draw inspiration for centuries to come.
Romanticism has become a piece of history that cannot be ignored for a long time because every place one can turn has been somehow influenced by the progress from this one particular period, although this is true of many artistic movements that have been present throughout, and seems to give greater influence to the joint expression of art imitating life and life imitating art. Neo-romanticism developed through the artistic reinterpretation of earlier works by the likes of William Blake, and particularly in areas such as Britain, and created a new underground of writers, artists and composers.
Neo-romanticists were seen as a contrast to naturalism, as romanticism in its heyday was seen as the opposite of neoclassicism, as the movement seemed to emphasize feelings and internal observation, as opposed to the naturalist tendency to emphasize external observation and use historical rural landscapes to respond to the modern world of machines and its urbanization. Post-romanticism is an outgrowth of passionate art that refers to the postmodern rendering of romantic themes and motifs in contemporary art up to the present day, combining the best of traditional art with a more modern twist.
In terms of the 20th century turns that Romanticism made, Romantic Realism evolved from Romanticism to include elements of value themes while referring to objective reality and the importance of technique, and was popularized, although not created, by writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. This led to artists incorporating Romanticism and Realism, although they seemed more heavily weighted towards the Romantic side of the equation, and is today considered more of an offshoot of the Romanticism movement.
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