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.
Elegant Chinese Beauties, after Chen Yifei (1946–2005)
Located in San Francisco, CA
On offer is a recreation of a famed "Romantic Realism" composition by the renowned Chinese master Chen Yifei (1946–2005). The striking piece replicates one work in Chen Yifei's renow...
Canvas, Oil
$420
Romantic Landscape of Scandinavian Enchanted Forest, Large Lake Print Cyanotype
By Kind of Cyan
Located in Barcelona, ES
This is an exclusive handprinted limited edition cyanotype. Lovely scene of a hidden pond in a Scandinavian forest. Details: + Title: Scandinavian Enchanted Forest + Year: 2026 + ...
Photographic Film, Emulsion, Watercolor, Monotype, Photogram
$1,900Sale Price|20% Off
Pair of Hand-colored Romantic French Engravings after Francois Boucher
By (After) Francois Boucher
Located in Alamo, CA
A pair of French classical romantic prints original created in the 18th century by Jacques-Firmin Beauvarlet (1731-1797) after paintings by Francois Boucher (1703-1770), utilizing ...
Engraving, Etching
$11,836Sale Price|20% Off
Tenggren’s Sorcerer’s Clockwork Key – Before Disney
Located in Stockholm, SE
Gustaf Tenggren (1896–1970) Sweden Trollkarlens urnyckel (The Sorcerer’s Clockwork Key), 1918 signed and dated lower right “G. Tenggren 1918” watercolour on paper unframed 25 × 23 ...
Watercolor, Laid Paper
Pair of Biedermeier Portraits by Leopold Fertbauer (1802-1875), oil on panel.
Located in Wien, AT
A refined pair of companion family portraits by the distinguished Austrian master Leopold Fertbauer, painted circa 1830. Executed in oil on wooden panel, these works perfectly captur...
Oil
Still Life Italian School 19th Century Paint Oil on canvas Italy Art Quality
Located in Riva del Garda, IT
Still life with vase of flowers Italian School of the nineteenth century Oil on canvas cm. 74 x 92,5 frame 97 x 112 Beautiful painting representing a rich still life, of great deco...
Oil
1880 Romantic Waterfall Landscape Oil Painting, Monumental Victorian mountain
Located in GB
A dramatic and beautifully executed waterfall landscape dated 1880, depicting a powerful cascade descending through a rocky mountain gorge surrounded by mature woodland and mist-fill...
Canvas, Oil
$1,495
Unique Pair Of Vintage Herbarium Displays. A Botanical Flower Press With Frame
Located in Frederiksberg C, DK
A unique pair of vintage herbarium / botanical displays collected and created by S. Lindwald in June 1946 in Sweden. These botanical specimen are preserved behind glass in a new doub...
Archival Paper
‘Cats Playing around a Mirror’ by Joseph Bail (1862 – 1921), French Painter
By Joseph Bail
Located in Knokke, BE
Joseph Bail Limonest 1862 – 1921 Paris French Painter ‘Cats Playing around a Mirror’ Signature: signed lower right ‘Bail Joseph’ Medium: oil on canvas Dimensions: image size 45,5...
Canvas, Oil
PAYSAGE D’ ITALIE
By Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
Located in Santa Monica, CA
JEAN-BAPTISTE CAMILLE COROT (1876 - 1875) PAYSAGE D’ ITALIE 1866 (Melot 7 iii/iii) Etching, plate 6 ¼ x 9 inches, Third state after the removal of the text but before the random scr...
Etching
$163Sale Price|20% Off
Sailing Away From Shore. Oil on Board.
By Boggio
Located in Cotignac, FR
An oil on panel idyllic seascape by Boggio. The painting is signed bottom right. An idealised seascape scene, boats under sail on a tranquil sea moving away from a rocky outcrop all...
Oil, Board
$3,186Sale Price|20% Off
Golden Sunrise on the Maas – Arthur J. Meadows’ Tranquil Masterpiece (1884)
Located in Stockholm, SE
A Golden Dawn on the Maas In this refined marine painting, Arthur Joseph Meadows captures a tranquil sunrise on the river Maas just below the historic city of Dordrecht (“Dort”). The...
Canvas, Oil
19th Century Portrait of Germanic Warrior Chief Wearing a Winged Helmet-unsigned
Located in brussel, BE
19th Century Portrait of a Germanic Warrior Chief Wearing a Winged Helmet The figure appears to be a romanticized Germanic warrior representation: the dramatic winged helmet, fur cl...
Canvas, Oil
$1,707Sale Price|25% Off
German painter - 18th century trompe l'oeil with engravings and still life
Located in Varmo, IT
German painter (18th–19th century) - Trompe l'oeil with documents, engravings and still life. 38 x 53 cm (without frame) - 41.5 x 56.5 cm (with frame). Tempera on paper, in a gilt ...
Paper, Tempera
"Alpine River Landscape"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Georg Garbe (19th Century) "Alpine River Landscape" This captivating 19th-century oil painting on canvas by Georg Garbe presents a breathtaking Alpine landscape, featuring a rushing ...
Canvas, Oil
Suspense, Romantic Oil Painting After Edwin Landseer, Signed, Framed
By Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, 1802-1873
Located in Cotignac, FR
Portrait of a Landseer Bloodhound dog, copy after Sir Edwin Landseer, oil on canvas laid on board signed J Provost. The painting is signed bottom right and presented in a plain gilt ...
Oil, Board
$99,600Sale Price|20% Off
Hans Zatzka, Austrian Oil on Canvas Titled "Spring Love" Maiden with Cherubs
By Hans Zatzka
Located in LA, CA
Hans Zatzka (Austrian, 1859-1945) a superb quality oil on canvas titled "Spring Love" depicting a standing young maiden holding a wicker basket filled with fresh flower as she is bei...
Oil
$860Sale Price|20% Off
Native American Camp by a Lake & Waterfall, Limited Edition Signed Hartwig Print
By Heine Hartwig
Located in Alamo, CA
Limited edition Heine Hartwig print from a painting by the same artist, signed & numbered in gold in the lower right, 722/800. This beautiful, colorful a...
Other Medium
Male Portrait Oil on Canvas, 19th Century, Signed, Blas G. Garcia Valladolid
Located in Valladolid, ES
Beautiful and timeless portrait .It represents a half-length male portrait, with the sitter seated in a chair, slightly in profile. He is a young man, belonging to a prominent politi...
Canvas
Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta Palatial Oil on Canvas Portrait Isabelle McCreery
By Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta
Located in LA, CA
Raimundo De Madrazo y Garreta (Spanish School, 1841-1920) an exceptional and palatial oil on canvas "Portrait of Isabelle McCreery” depic...
Oil
The Young Art Lover, Child Contemplating a Painting, 19th Century
Located in Genève, GE
Dimensions with frame: 57,9 x 50,2 x 4,3cm. Unsigned This charming 19th-century painting depicts a young child absorbed in the contemplation of a framed picture held closely before them. Seen largely from behind, the child’s softly illuminated figure and carefully arranged auburn curls emerge beautifully against the deep, warm background, while a loosely draped white garment adds a note of intimacy to the scene. The painting within the painting forms the narrative focus of the composition. Rendered in restrained, almost monochromatic tones, it appears to depict a small figure holding a lyre, contrasting with the warm flesh tones and rich coloring of the child in the foreground. This subtle mise en abyme gives the work an engaging and unusual character, inviting the viewer to share in the child’s curiosity and attentive observation. With its refined modelling, warm chiaroscuro and intimate subject, the work reflects the Romantic taste for scenes of childhood and private emotion. An elegant and engaging composition celebrating curiosity, contemplation and the fascination of images. Romantic painting, 19th century painting, child portrait, portrait of a child, child with painting, child looking at painting, young art lover, child contemplating art, painting within a painting, mise en abyme painting, childhood painting, Romantic portrait, Academic painting, European figurative painting, antique figurative painting...
Oil, Cardboard
$3,414Sale Price|25% Off
Orientalist European painter - 19th century Arab city street with caravan
Located in Varmo, IT
Orientalist painter (19th century) - View of an Arab city with caravan. 57 x 47 cm (unframed) - 71 x 62 cm (framed). Original oil on canvas, in a contemporary 19th-century carved a...
Canvas, Oil
Ceiling of the Paris Opera House
By Marc Chagall
Located in Boca Raton, FL
Ceiling of the Paris Opera House This is a print made by Center Art Galleries-Hawaii, Inc. You can google their name to get a sense of the litigation surrounding this manufacturer,...
Paper, Ink
$2,585
Travellers With Camels At Sundown Near Pyramids American Orientalist Watercolor
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Edwin Lord Weeks. American ( b.1849 - d.1903 ). Travellers By A River Nile Tributary At Sundown. Watercolor On Paper. Monogram Lower Left. Image size 6.7 inches x 11 inches ( 17cm x...
Paper, Watercolor
Egyptian Cloud Study, Swedish Watercolor Painting 1914
Located in Stockholm, SE
Erik Tryggelin (1878–1962) Sweden Cloud Study, Egypt, 1914 signed and dated lower left Erik Tryggelin, Den 5 maj 1914 watercolour on paper unframed 15.5 × 24 cm (6.1 × 9.4 in) fram...
Watercolor
Lake Landscape at Dusk with a Rowboat, 1896
Located in Stockholm, SE
"Lake Landscape at Dusk with a Rowboat" is a captivating oil painting by the Swedish artist Erik Abrahamsson. Created in 1896, this work masterfully captures the tranquil beauty of a...
Canvas, Oil
$1,495
Unique Pair Of Vintage Herbarium Displays. A Botanical Flower Press With Frame
Located in Frederiksberg C, DK
A unique pair of vintage herbarium / botanical displays collected and created by S. Lindwald in June 1946 in Sweden. These botanical specimen are preserved behind glass in a new doub...
Archival Paper
Poppy and Anemone Still Life Floral Study in Oil on Linen
Located in Soquel, CA
Delicate and detailed floral still life by Alfred Broge (Danish, 1870-1955). Three white anemones and one pink poppy, all with stems and leaves, sit against a medium grey background...
Linen, Oil, Board
Romantic Italian painter - 19th century oil painting, Portrait of a Lady
Located in Varmo, IT
Romantic painter (second half of the 19th century) - Portrait of a Lady in Medieval Costume. 45,5 x 31 cm (without frame) - 74 x 60 cm (with frame). Oil on canvas, in a carved wood...
Canvas, Oil
$3,002
1830's French Romantic Period Large Oil Painting Christ on the Cross
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Crucifixion French School, circa 1830's circle of Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863) oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 37.5 x 22.5 inches provenance: private collection, northern France ...
Oil, Canvas
Moonlight Coastal Landscape with Reflections, 1909 – Elias Muukka
Located in Stockholm, SE
Elias Muukka (1853–1938) Finland Månsken vid stranden (Moonlight by the Shore), 1909 signed and dated 09 oil on canvas unframed 31 × 40.5 cm (12.2 × 15.9 in) framed 44 × 54 cm (17....
Canvas, Oil
$4,461Sale Price|20% Off
Geese in the Marshland, Falsterbo, 1918
Located in Stockholm, SE
This luminous oil painting by William Gislander captures a tranquil evening scene in the coastal wetlands of Falsterbo, southern Sweden. A group of geese gathers at the edge of a mea...
Canvas, Oil
$1,362Sale Price|20% Off
Painting of Lake & Mountains in England by 20th Century British Landscape Artist
By James Wright
Located in Preston, GB
Painting of Lake & Mountains in England by 20th Century British Landscape Artist, James Wright Signed, Original, Oil on Canvas, housed in a beautiful ornate gold frame. Provenance: Part of the English Heritage...
Canvas, Oil
Kastellet, View of Kastellholmen from Skeppsholmen, Stockholm
Located in Stockholm, SE
signed lower right oil on canvas unframed 37 × 50 cm (14.6 × 19.7 in) framed 51.5 × 63 cm (20.3 × 24.8 in) This painting depicts Kastellholmen as seen from Skeppsholmen, rendered un...
Canvas, Oil
Pupil on Jacque Louis David, Shepherd Gallery, Louis Hersent (1777-1869)
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Louis Hersent (1777-1869) Left: Mme Teulin, Nice 1813 Right: Mlle. Dubouchage, 1813 Graphite on wove paper, “English” tipped mounted to support Signed and dated by the artist verso u...
Graphite
Early Winter in Dalarna Sweden, 1923
Located in Stockholm, SE
Carl Axel Elvegård (1883–1962) Sweden Early Winter in Dalarna, 1923 signed and dated lower right Ax. Elvegård 1923 pastel and pencil on paper paper 48.5 × 61.5 cm (19.1 × 24.2 in) ...
Paper, Pastel, Pencil
$22,500
'Scrovegni Chapel', Giotto, Arena Chapel, Padua, Leipzig Academy
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower left 'C. Werner' for Carl Frederich Heinrich Werner (German, 1808-1894) and dated 1855. Watercolorist Carl Werner studied first with Veit Hanns Schnorr von Carolsfeld ...
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
Salome Bloodied Sword Femme Fatale 1860s Original French Orientalist Watercolor
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Charles Alphonse Paul Bellay. French ( b.1826 - d.1900 ). Salome. Watercolor On Paper. Signed Lower Right. Image size 16.7 inches x 12.2 inches ( 42.5cm x 31cm ). Frame size 21.3 in...
Paper, Watercolor
Muscular Man Nude Bronze with Wings Icarus, Signed G. Colin and stamped 5888
Located in Miami, FL
French sculptor Georges Colin depicts Icarus in an idealized pose, featuring a handsome, fit, semi-nude male with an acutely delineated musculature. Mod...
Bronze
Portrait of Nils And Stina Tirén Reading Kring Granen och Brasan
Located in Stockholm, SE
This intimate watercolour depicts the artist’s children, Nils Tirén and Stina Tirén, they reading the Christmas annual Kring granen och brasan. The image served as the original illus...
Watercolor, Board
$8,720Sale Price|20% Off
Romantic 19th century oil in period frame, golden light after storm, British
Located in Hillsborough, NC
Dramatic and beautiful, light shines on the bucolic flock of sheep as the village, skies and hills remain in darkness, John Linnell (1792-1882) gives us a metaphor of coming through ...
Canvas, Oil
Rocky Landscape at Sunset, Oil on Canvas, Signed, Circa 1900
Located in Stockholm, SE
This sunset landscape by Hans Agersnap presents a quiet and ccontemplative view of the Danish countryside at the close of day. The composition is dominated by undulating hills, bathe...
Canvas, Oil
German School, 1892 – Portrait of a Woman in Black, Oil on Panel
Located in Stockholm, SE
This sensitively painted portrait depicts a young woman wearing a black head covering and an enveloping dark shawl. Her face is turned slightly to one side, revealing blue-grey eyes ...
Oil, Wood Panel
$1,422
French romantic marine painting Attributed to KUWASSEG Sea boat Normandy 19th
Located in PARIS, FR
Charles Euphrasie KUWASSEG (Attributed to) Draveil (Essonne), 1833 – Paris, 1904 Seaside near cliffs with a rowboat Oil on wood panel 22.5 x 41.5 cm (37 x 56 cm with frame) Beautiful...
Oil
$7,739Sale Price|20% Off
Swedish Värmland Landscape With a Red Barn by Hilding Werner, Oil Painting
Located in Stockholm, SE
Hilding Werner, A Värmland artist, was a distinguished Swedish painter and draftsman. Born to landowner Anders Andersson and Inga Maria Johannesdotter, ...
Masonite, Oil
$5,007Sale Price|20% Off
Antique oil Painting, atmospheric Seascape. 19th Century. Oil on canvas.
Located in Berlin, DE
Antique oil painting, atmospheric seascape. 19th century. Oil on canvas. Unsigned. Dimensions without frame 80 cm x 122 cm. The painting and the frame are in an age-appropriate co...
Canvas, Oil
$450
'Cheval de Mecklembourg' — 19th-Century French Romanticism
By Jean Louis Andre Theodore Gericault
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Théodore Géricault 'Cheval de Mecklembourg' (Mecklembourg Horse), lithograph, 1822, 2nd state of 4, Delteil 47. Signed in the matrix 'Gericault', lower left. Published by Godefroy En...
Lithograph
Pair of Hunting Dogs at Rest; artist unknown, French, Mid-19th century
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Pair of Hunting Dogs at Rest; Artist unknown, French, 19th century (monogrammed "JS" Circa 1850 10 x 7 (14 3/8 x 17 1/8 frame) inches This is finely realized portrait of pair of h...
Oil, Wood Panel
Playing in the Garden with a Cat - Landscape
Located in Soquel, CA
Restrained landscape with a child playing with a cat by an unknown artist. Although nearly monochromatic, there is exquisite details in the foliage in the foreground. to the left. In...
Paper, Gouache
$2,450Sale Price|30% Off
La Maja Vestida, Romantic Oil Painting on Canvas, Early 19th Century
Located in New York, NY
Very good copy of "La maja vestida" after Francisco Goya, around 1900.
Canvas, Oil
$9,551
Thomas Barker of Bath Shepherd Boy Cattle and Sheep in a English Landscape
Located in GB
A shepherd boy guides a small group of cattle and sheep along a country path in this pastoral landscape by Thomas Barker of Bath (1769–1847). Staff in hand, the boy pauses as the ani...
Canvas, Oil
$1,637
19th century classic English landscape with Children, cows and cottages.
Located in GB
This painting presents a serene and luminous pastoral landscape, characteristic of 19th-century English rural imagery, where nature and human presence are harmoniously intertwined. T...
Canvas, Oil
$10,243
Sheltering from the storm / - Romantic landscape illuminated by lightning bolt -
Located in Berlin, DE
George Morland (1763 London - 1804 Brighton). Sheltering from the Storm. Oil on canvas, relined, 37.5 x 29.5 cm (visible size), 53.5 x 45.5 cm (...
Oil
COUNTRY GIRL- Angelo Granati - Figurative oil on canvas painting
Located in Napoli, IT
Country girl - Angelo Granati Italia 2011 - Oil on canvas cm. 90 x 70. This is his reinterpretation of painting "Young Shepherdess" by gratest old master William Adolphe Bouguereau. ...
Canvas, Oil
Lilies, Orange and Pink Pelargonium, Roses, and other Flowers in a Greek Vase
By Johan Laurentz Jensen
Located in New York, NY
From 1833 to 1835 Johan Laurentz Jensen lived in France and Italy; while in Rome, he was considered the most prominent painter in an extensive colony of Scandinavian artists there. I...
Oil, Panel
Evening Landscape with River and Farmhouses, 1898
Located in Stockholm, SE
Evening Landscape with River and Farmhouses by August Alvén captures a moment of profound quiet in the Swedish countryside just after sunset. The glowing sky transitions from warm ap...
Canvas, Oil
$2,048Sale Price|28% Off
Italian Sculptor - 19th Century Reclining Female Nude in Carved Alabaster
Located in Varmo, IT
Italian sculptor (19th century) - Reclining girl. 32 x 12 x h 9 cm. Full-round figure in carved alabaster. The sculpture depicts a young female nude reclining on a cushion, partia...
Alabaster
$9,400Sale Price|50% Off
Animal Studies, 1814 Charles Towne (British, 1763-1840)
Located in SANTA FE, NM
"Animal Studies, 1814" Charles Towne (British, 1763-1840) Oil on panel Signed and dated Chas. Towne/ Pinxit 1814 (lower right) 15 x 11 3/8 (21 x 17 ¼ frame) inches Provenance: Collec...
Oil, Wood Panel
$19,348
A preparatory drawing by Eugène Delacroix on the back of one of his prints
Located in PARIS, FR
Rapidly executed with the tip of a brush, this wash bordering on abstraction seduced us with its great spontaneity. This (unsigned) study is a first thought for a small licentious ca...
Paper, Ink, Pencil
$2,305Sale Price|30% Off
French Romantic School, 19th Century, Manly head of bearded man, oil on canvas
Located in Paris, FR
French Romantic School 19th Century Manly head of bearded man oil on canvas 46 x 37.8 cm In fairly good condition, some inpaintings visible under UV light, mainly in the backgrounds ...
Canvas, Oil