Stomaching Romanticism
This morning I had the kind of stomach illness that had me writhing in a coat of sweat, and after several trips to the restroom, there was still a snarling beast rumbling in my digestive system. But forget about this morning’s digestive fiasco. Let’s talk about what art movement my stomach feels like.
Romanticism!
Romanticism came in 1800-50, pretty much as a rebellion against Neoclassicism and the Age of Reason. Romanticism was intense and based on the gut instinct and essence of the subject, instead of rational objectivity. From then on, French art became more about emotion than intellect.
This is another painting that reminds me of my stomach.
Delacroix painted this violent piece based on Lord Byron’s poetic verses about the Assyrian emperor, Sardanapalus. In it, the emperor faced military defeat, and in response, he ordered everything he owned to be destroyed, including his harem girls and horses. Afterwards, he immolated himself on a funeral pyre.
If you look at the contorted and strained body language, you almost get what happens to me after a night of too much pizza slices. In essence at least.
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