Notice in this first image the ruins, the rocky hill, the tree jutting over the river - all typical elements of the picturesque.
The second image is certainly a picturesque scene, but we might also argue that it has elements of the sublime: those hills rising into the distance, the heavy, threatening sky, the mist that obscures the details.
For a real taste of the sublime, though, we should turn to the artist John Martin. He's a bit of a late Romantic - most of his pictures are painted in the 1830s and 1840s. Perhaps for that reason, he sometimes seems to be trying TOO hard to be sublime (and perhaps ends up just being silly or ridiculous, and thus not sublime at all). Still, his art illustrates the concept of the sublime very nicely. And - guess what? It's Milton again! Here's Martin's picture of The Fallen Angels Entering Pandemonium:
Probably the greatest Romantic painter of the sublime was the German, Caspar David Friedrich. It's really worth getting to know his work, which often features mysterious ruins (the picturesque transformed into the sublime) or spectacular, awe-inspiring landscapes. You might have already seen this image, which is often used to illustrate the idea of the solitary Romantic artist high on a mountain peak:
You can see an excellent slideshow of his work here.
I hope that helps clarify these concepts and gives you an idea of the work they generated and help to explain - feel free to ask any questions by adding a comment below, or by sending me an email (or simply ask me in class).
they are so great.I am fascinated. thanx :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, and glad you liked them. Again, I'd really recommend looking at some more of Friedrich's paintings. You should begin looking at some of William Blake's images, too - go to www.blakearchive.org. You'll find the sublime there too, in abundance!
ReplyDeletePatrick
The Fallen Angels Entering Pandemonium is my favourite one.I think it is remarkably different from the other sublimes.
ReplyDeleteAll of them is really useful for us but definitely pictures of Caspar David Friedrich is my best :P not only because of name similarity but pictures in slideshow is really great
ReplyDeleteKaspar, I thought of you when I was posting Friedrich's images - in fact I initially spelled his first name with a 'K', then checked and found it actually begins with a 'C'. I'm glad you like the pictures - Friedrich is one of my favourite artists, and I think his images can give you all sorts of insights into Romantic literature and ideas.
ReplyDeleteCenk, you hould have a look at some of John Martin's other work. Perhaps I should have posted this, his painting of a scene from Lord Byron's 'Manfred', a work we'll look at later on the course:
http://www.artmagick.com/pictures/picture.aspx?id=5426&name=manfred-and-the-witch-of-the-alps
Thanks again for looking, and commenting - I appreciate it!
Patrick
Wooov! I think all the works of John Martin is just awesome. It is incredibly impressive.I had not heard him until you gave the link above but as much as we learn what the sublime is in the course, I think John Martin's paintings are truly sublime. Generally I always find the caves quite enchanting and fascinating so the works of John Martin attracted me a lot. Especially, Man fred and the witch of the alps, The eruption of vesuvius and The celestial city and river of bliss, are my favourite ones. Thanks for the link Patrick and I think you have more examples of sublime.
ReplyDelete