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Romantic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

ROMANTIC STYLE

In emphasizing emotion and imagination, romantic art shifted away from the restraint of classicism and neoclassicism that had dominated art in Europe since the Renaissance. Romanticism achieved its greatest popularity in art, literature, music and philosophy between 1780 and 1830, although its expression of individual experiences ranging from awe to passion informed culture in the decades after.

Landscape painting was especially popular during the romantic period, as were nature studies of wild animals and fantasies of exotic lands. Romanticism varied across Europe as it reacted to the rise of industrialization, a more personal relationship with faith that was distanced from the church and the rationalist thinking of the Enlightenment.

British painters such as John Constable and J.M.W. Turner responded dramatically to the light and atmosphere of the natural world, while William Blake conveyed humanity’s connection to the divine in his visionary art. In Germany, the late-18th-century Sturm und Drang, or Storm and Drive, movement, with its probing of the unconscious, inspired a sense of mystery in work by romantic artists such as Caspar David Friedrich and Philipp Otto Runge. In France, where the French Revolution had turned tradition upside down, Théodore Géricault and Eugène Delacroix used lush brushwork to paint monumental canvases with tumultuous scenes of nature and history.

The romantic movement and its subject matter were a significant influence on the Pre-Raphaelites, Symbolists and the American painters of the Hudson River School, as well as on other cultural movements in the 19th and 20th centuries that saw artists build on this perspective in which art was guided by emotion rather than reason.

Find a collection of romantic paintings, sculptures, prints and multiples and more art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Romantic
Bellagio, Lake Como.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid 19th century pastel drawing view of Bellagio on Lake Como by Hercules Brabazon Brabazon. The work is under its original mount and initial signed (HBB) b...
Category

1860s Romantic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pastel, Pencil

19th century pastel of a river scene, The Chapel Bridge, Lucerne, Switzerland.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid 19th century pastel drawing view of the Chapel Bridge and river Reuss in Lucerne, Switzerland by Hercules Brabazon Brabazon. The work...
Category

1860s Romantic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pastel, Pencil

Related Items
Llangorse Lake, Brecon Beacons, Wales, circa 1964. Welsh Landscape. Abstract.
By Roger Cecil
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Roger Cecil. Welsh ( b.1942 - d.2015 ). Llangorse, Brecon Beacons Watercolor and pastel on paper. Signed. Image size 19.5 inches x 29.5 inches ( 49.5cm x 75cm ). Frame size 24.6 inches x 34.6 inches ( 62.5cm x 88cm ). Available for sale; this original painting is by the Welsh artist Roger Cecil and dates from around 1964. The watercolor and pastel work is presented and supplied in a sympathetic contemporary frame (our stock frame, which is shown in these photographs), mounted using conservation materials and behind glass. The original backboard has been reused but the artwork has been isolated from it using conservation barrier materials. This vintage artwork is in good condition, commensurate with its age. Previous cockling (rippling) of the paper has been eliminated by stretching and the use of a new mounting. Previous foxing and age marks have been mechanically removed and the coarse fiber of the paper has been made good in these areas. The painting is now ready to hang and display. The watercolor is signed lower left. Provenance: Previously with the Howard Roberts Gallery, Imperial Buildings, 69/74 St Mary Street, Cardiff. Roger Cecil was a reclusive painter, draughtsman and teacher who was born in Abertillery, Monmouthshire in 1942. He lived and worked in Wales for the last four decades of his life, much of it in the house where he was born and brought up. Cecil produced abstract work rich in imagery, poetry and color, which were drawn from his environment, the industrial valley towns and mountains. Prolific and obsessive, he was always a solitary artist, with no affiliations to any group or artistic movement. He worked for more than forty years, with an ever evolving and prolific creative output. His pictures capture the geology and the history of the places he knew so intimately, and the impact of man of that environment. Cecil studied Fine Art at Newport College of Art from 1959 to 1963, where his teachers included John Wright and Thomas Rathmell; in 1963 he gained the College’s highest award in the national diploma in design and a place at the Royal College London. In 1964 he won the David Murray Landscape Award from the RA. He took up his place at the Royal College of Art, but after just a few weeks he was unsatisfied and instead took up manual work in opencast mines and building sites. Cecil later spent some time teaching at Ebbw Vale. From 1995 to 1998 he did his MA, which he gained with distinction in communication design at St. Martin’s College of Art. The BBC made a television documentary on Cecil's work called The Gentle Rebel. For a long time Cecil did not exhibit, through choice, and it was friends who helped to promote him. He then had a series of exhibitions at Business Art Galleries from 1987, and in 1995 the Hill Court Gallery, Abergavenny, held a retrospective of his work. In 1998 Gordon Hepworth and Y Tabernacl both showed Cecil's pictures. Cecil’s works were also shown at the Oriel Myrddin Gallery in 2006 and 20011. The small book which takes the name of the earlier exhibition ”Cariad”; has an introduction by gallery manager Meg Anthony which states; “The magic of Roger Cecil’s work is in part down to the man, for he is enigmatic and surprising, diffident and proud. He has deliberately avoided the art establishment, remaining shy of its protocol and systems of exposure and recognition. He has consciously created the space to pursue his art, away from the pressures of publicity and celebrity...... paint is Roger’s passion.” Cecil’s methods were complex; he worked with a mixture of materials, including oil pastels, sandpaper, primer and plaster. He built up layers and then he rubbed and scratched them away. His work is textured and nuanced, and the color reverberates as if it has a life of its own. The paintings are abstract, but there are echoes of monumental shapes and undulations of the female form, the Valleys - the dark hills embracing the bowls of space and the rich, gritty textures of the industrial and post-industrial landscape, highlighted by intricate, personal marks. Sarah Bradford states: “Scale is an important feature of Roger Cecil’s work; he constantly shifts from near and the far off. He also moves his viewpoint from looking at, to looking down on to. This looking down, as though a bird, onto the world of the painting, comes from exploration of his surroundings and from the ordinance survey maps he takes with him when he walks. He has often said how he is inspired by the language of symbols and lines that are used in maps to delineate the landscape. It is easy to see the connection when looking at the networks of invented footpaths, waterways, and other pinpoint features that can be found in his work.” … Mary Lloyd...
Category

Mid-20th Century Romantic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

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Mid Century Abstracted Bay Area Landscape, Black & White Pastel Drawing
Located in Soquel, CA
Bold abstract black and white pastel landscape drawing by Erle Loran (American, 1905-1999). Unsigned, but was acquired from the estate of the artist. Presented in a new black mat with foam core backing. Provenance: Estate of Earle Loran; David Carlson...
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Mid-20th Century Romantic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

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Mid Century Abstracted San Francisco Bay Line Drawing Landscape
Located in Soquel, CA
Bold abstract geometric landscape, an expressive black and white line drawing done in pastel, by Erle Loran (American, 1905-1999). Unsigned, but was acquired from the artist's estate. Presented in a new black mat with foam core backing. Provenance: Estate of Earle Loran; David Carlson...
Category

Mid-20th Century Romantic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel, Paper

“Freedom Towers” Blue Toned Abstract Surrealist Architectural Archway Drawing
Located in Houston, TX
Blue and pink toned abstract landscape by Texas artist Patrick Palmer. The painting depicts two architectural arches against a cool and warm sunset sky. Pencil inscriptions are seen ...
Category

1980s Romantic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

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Mid Century Abstracted Industrial Cityscape
Located in Soquel, CA
Bold mid century abstracted landscape by Erle Loran (American, 1905-1999). Unsigned, but was acquired from the estate of Ruth Loran (wife of artist). Presented in a new black mat with foam core backing. Provenance: Estate of Earle Loran; David Carlson...
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Mid-20th Century Romantic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

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"Linear Landscape" Landscape Drawing Large size Made inItaly
Located in Agrigento, AG
Landscape mixed media on vintage paper 97x37 cm 2019 the artwork have a frame 50x110 cm Ready to hang Original Art The major creative focus of Marilina Marchica has always been w...
Category

2010s Romantic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Oil Pastel, Archival Paper, Graphite

"Linear Landscape" Abstract Landscape Drawing Ready to hang
Located in Agrigento, AG
Landscape mixed media on vintage paper 97x37 cm 2019 the artwork have a frame 50x110 cm The major creative focus of Marilina Marchica has always been with urban architecture and ...
Category

2010s Romantic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

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The Cliff, Abstract Colorado Landscape, American Modernist Pastel Drawing
Located in Denver, CO
Abstract Colorado mountain landscape by Eric James Bransby (1916-2020). Pastel on paper in colors of green, orange, blue, and purple. Presented in a custom frame with archival materi...
Category

1990s Romantic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Oil Pastel, Pastel, Archival Paper

"Chimneys at Dusk", Small Pastel San Francisco Abstract Urban Landscape
Located in Soquel, CA
Abstracted Bay Area skyline against a pink sunset creates beautiful and soft geometries in this small pastel urban landscape by San Francisco artist Chris Cacciotti (American, 20th C...
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“Acadian Gateway I” Red Toned Abstract Surrealist Architectural Archway Drawing
Located in Houston, TX
Surrealist architectural landscape drawing by Houston, Texas artist Patrick Palmer. The work features a prominent, brutalist archway set against a blended red sky. Currently hung in ...
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1980s Romantic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

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Abstract Landscape Mid 20th Century Work on Paper Hamptons, NY Drawing Pastel
Located in New York, NY
Abstract Landscape Mid 20th Century Work on Paper Hamptons, NY Drawing Pastel. Signed and dated '62 lower right. 9 x 12 inches (sight) and 15. 1/2 x 18 1/2 inches framed. BIO Robert Dash is known for his Hamptons paintings...
Category

1960s Romantic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

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Cityscape Reflections - Study No. 1
Located in Storrs, CT
Cityscape Reflections - Misty Morning. 1980. Lithograph with pastel coloring. Czestochowski 42. Edition 40. 14 x 10 3/16 (sheet 18 x 14). Tape stains in the margins, not affecting th...
Category

Late 20th Century Romantic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

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Romantic abstract drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Romantic abstract drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 19th Century, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including and Hercules Brabazon Brabazon. Frequently made by artists working with Crayon, and Paper and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Romantic abstract drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 16 inches across are also available. Prices for abstract drawings and watercolors made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,326 and tops out at $1,658, while the average work sells for $1,492.

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