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.
$5,200Sale Price|20% Off
"Nymphs in a Landscape" Narcisse Diaz de la Peña, 19th Century Idyllic Landscape
Located in New York, NY
Narcisse Diaz de la Peña Nymphs in a Landscape Estate sale seal lower left Oil on board 9 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches Narcisse Diaz de la Peña was born in 1808 in...
Oil, Board
$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
Antique Hand-Colored Engraving of a Jamaican Waterfall
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Transporting 18th century hand colored engraving with a "Beautiful view of the remarkable cascade on the White river in Jamaica" as seen by the artist. Presented under glass in a gil...
Engraving
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
Ferdinando De Luca (1785–1869), "The Wrestlers" 19th Century Grand Tour Bronze
Located in Palm Desert, CA
The sculpture portrays two nude male athletes locked in mid-combat, one lifting the other clean off the base as they grapple in the pancratist's hold. Cast in bronze with fine attent...
Bronze
19th Century Continental School Floral Still Life, Oil on Canvas
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
Continental School - Floral Still Life - 19th Century - Oil on Canvas - 81 x 60 cm Oil on canvas. Unsigned. Artwork: 81 × 60 cm (31.9 × 23.6 in.). Framed: 95 × 74 cm (37.4 × 29.1 in...
Canvas, Oil
$3,246Sale 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
Eugenio Lucas Velázquez – Somewhere in Madrid – Oil on Canvas
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
Eugenio Lucas Velázquez “Somewhere in Madrid” Oil on Canvas. Oil on canvas. Signed by the artist in the lower right corner. Artwork: 23.7 × 31.5 cm (9.3 × 12.4 in.). Framed: 41.5 × 4...
Oil, Canvas
"Mother and Child in a Countryside Setting"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Adolf Luben (1837–1905) "Mother and Child in a Countryside Setting" This charming 19th-century oil painting on canvas by Adolf Luben captures a heartwarming rural scene, depicting a...
Canvas, Oil
Landscape French Romantic Mountains River Scotland 19th
Located in PARIS, FR
Alexandre Thomas FRANCIA Calais, 1815 – Brussels, 1884 Mountain landscape with a river, a fisherman, and his dog Oil on wood panel 20 x 28.5 cm (36.5 x 45.5 cm with frame) Signed low...
Oil
Alexandria, Egypt & Lighthouse: A Hand-colored Aquatint & Engraving by L. Mayer
By Luigi Mayer
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a hand-colored aquatint and engraving entitled "Part of the New City of Alexandria, with the Light House", published in London by R. Bowyer from 1802-1805. The print was crea...
Engraving, Aquatint
$1,394
Allegory of Love, Cupid With Beauty in Fine Dress Carrying a Basket of Flowers
Located in Cotignac, FR
A late 18th Century oil on canvas laid on board of a young beauty in period costume carrying a basket of flowers on her head. Presented in a very fine gilt, period 'Directoire' frame...
Canvas, Oil, Board
Thames Antique Oil Painting, Landscape Scene, Signed, 19th Century
Located in London, GB
Walter Meegan (1859-1944) 'Moonlight on the Thames' Oil on canvas 36 x 51 cm, 44.5 x 59.8 cm (framed) Signed lower left
Canvas, Oil
$1,176Sale Price|20% Off
Paris, Angle de la Rue De Varenne et du Boulevard Des Invalides
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Delightful Paris scene circa 1950 artist's stamp, signed and titled in pencil on reverse Framed to 18 x 24 in with archival matt Rene-Jacques was born in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) in 19...
Silver Gelatin
The Colonnade, Island of Philae
Located in Fairlawn, OH
The Colonnade, Island of Philae Original gold toned albumin photograph, c. 1862 Unsigned as is usual From: Upper Egypt and Ethiopia, c. 1862, Vol 1, (36 plates) Published by William ...
Photographic Paper
Female Oil Portrait Delicate Austria Romantic 1800s Vintage Woman Realism Signed
Located in Milwaukee, WI
Art: 30" x 24" Frame: 36.50" x 30.50" Oil on canvas signed and dated lower right.
Oil, Canvas
'Horse Attacked by Tiger' — 19th-Century French Romanticism
By Jean Louis Andre Theodore Gericault
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Théodore Géricault (after), 'Tigre dévorant un cheval' (Tiger Devouring a Horse), lithograph, 3rd state of 3, Clement 97, c. 1820. Lettered 'Volmar ...
Lithograph
$1,710Sale Price|40% Off
Woman with Two Children in Red - Dutch Style Interior Scene in Oil on Canvas
Located in Soquel, CA
Woman with Two Children in Red - Interior Scene in Oil on Canvas Lovely interior scene by notable artist Joseph Tomanek (Cech-American, 1889-1974). A woman sits near a window, holding a small child dressed in bright red in her lap. Another child, somewhat older, stands next to her, looking at the young child. Soft lights spills though the window, illuminating the scene in a warm glow. A plant with red flowers sits on the windowsill, and foliage can be seen outside. Signed "Tomanek" in the lower right corner (note that the shape above the signature is a toy train) Presented in a carved wood frame with a linen liner. Frame size: 30.75"H x 26.75"W Canvas size: 24"H x 20"W Tomanek, the son of a carpenter, was born in Moravia. His family discouraged his art talent and wanted him to be a shoemaker. He studied in his homeland of Czechoslovakia at the School of Design in Prague. He emigrated to America around the turn of the century and arrived in Chicago in 1910 and worked as an interior decorator. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago and studied with Antonin Sterba. He also studied with Albert Krehbiel and K.A. Buehr. He was a member of the Bohemian Artist Club, Association of Chicago Painters, and Sculptors, and the Chicago Gallery Association. His work is included in the collection of the Vanderpoel Art Association (Chicago). He exhibited from the 1910s-40s, including exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Georgia Museum of Art. Of the difficulty of posing nudes in Chicago, he said, "In Paris you can rent little gardens studios and pose your models there in privacy. Here, if I work out of doors, I have to pose the girls in bathing suits...
Canvas, Oil
Hudson River Region Painting “Natural Bridge”, listed artist Asa Warren, ca 1880
Located in Baltimore, MD
This is a wonderful antique American landscape featuring a natural stone formation. It certainly looks like it may have been a natural bridge at one time, but perhaps it was the rem...
Oil
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
$1,689
Horse & Figure in the English Countryside by 20th Century Landscape Artist
By James Wright
Located in Preston, GB
Horse & Figure in the English Countryside by 20th Century British Landscape Artist, James Wright Signed, Original, Oil on Canvas, housed in a beautiful ornate gold frame. Proven...
Canvas, Oil, Board
Hero, Art Nouveau Bronze Sculpture by Moreau
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Hippolyte Moreau, French (1832 - 1927) Title: Hero Medium: Bronze Sculpture on Marble Base, signature inscribed Size: 19 x 11 x 9 in. (48.26 x 27.94 x 22.86 cm) The tale of ...
Bronze
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
$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
1960s Framed Romantic Oil Painting of the Flower Market and Theatre de Cherbourg
Located in Cotignac, FR
French mid century oil on board painting of a colourful flower market in the square of the Grand Theatre in Cherbourg, northern France by J Lietard. The painting is signed bottom rig...
Oil, Board
"Still Life with Flowers" 19th Century Dutch oil on panel
Located in New York, NY
Dutch School 19th Century Flower Still Life Oil on panel Framed: 13 ½ inches x 11 ½ inches (34 x 29 cm) This charming miniature floral still life—possibly a preparatory study for...
Oil, Panel
Golden Sunset Reflections over a Brook in the Evening Silence
Located in Stockholm, SE
In this atmospheric landscape at sunset, Fredrik Lagerström captures a fleeting twilight moment with vivid intensity. The sky is aglow with brilliant gold and amber hues, which are m...
Canvas, Oil
French Harbor Scene, Le Havre – Alfred Bergström
Located in Stockholm, SE
This refined harbour scene from Le Havre presents a quiet yet vivid impression of a working port along the northern coast of France. Alfred Bergström constructs the composition from ...
Oil, Board
$2,379Sale Price|20% Off
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
$1,689
Frosterly Limestone Quarry, Limited Edition Landscape Colour Photographic Print
By David George
Located in London, GB
An ethereal landscape of lush cliffs and gentle waters, bathed in the soft, greenish glow of an impending nightfall... A serene dusk scene captures the gentle flow of a river cutting...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Pigment, Color, Archival Pigment, Ph...
A Flickering
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A Flickering Archival pigment print Signed and dated by the artist 16 x 20 - edition of 10 20 x 30 - edition of 5 Flickering in the Midday Silver Beyond the pane a glimmer, ba...
Photogravure
$167Sale Price|20% Off
Sailing Away. 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 wit...
Oil, Board
Flamenco Dancer, Belle Epoque Romantic Pastel Portrait, Conchita de Cadiz
Located in Cotignac, FR
Flamenco Dancer. Romantic French pastel portrait on paper of a Spanish beauty by Louis Fortuney. The work is signed bottom left, and presented in a very fine carved gilt rococo wood ...
Pastel, Paper
Portrait of a Girl in Blue Dress, Signed Pastel, Circa 1922, Elegant
Located in Stockholm, Stockholm
An enchanting oval portrait capturing a young girl, curled up in an oversized Louis XIV armchair. She wears a deep blue dress, her dark hair neatly arranged and held in place by two ...
Paper, Pastel
French Oil On Panel Rural Landscape, Chickens and Ducks in a Farmyard.
Located in Cotignac, FR
French oil on wood panel view of a sunny farmyard with chickens and ducks by H Tikat. The painting is signed bottom right. A very charming rural view of a hen house in a farmyard wi...
Oil, Wood Panel
$8,365Sale Price|20% Off
Woman in the garden. Romantic Oil Blue Landscape with beautiful female figure.
Located in Segovia, ES
Woman in the garden. Romantic and full of light landscape with beautiful female figure by the Spanish artist Manuel García Blázquez. Oil on canvas. Dimensions: Unframed: (H) 89 x (W) 116 (D) 2 cm. / 35.04 x 45.67 x 0.79 in. Framed: (H) 109 x (W) 136 (D) 4 cm. / 42.91 x 53.54 x 1.57 in. Light is the protagonist in this landscape with female figure by Manuel García Blázquez; an intense and soft light that interacts with color, and the impressionist technique that defines the work of this painter. The beautiful silhouette of a woman dressed in white and the reflections of the water in the pond at the back of the garden give the scene a certain luminous dreaminess, which contrasts with the strength of the color of the flowers in the foreground. The background landscape, so timeless and lyrical, serves as the setting for a female portrait with classical reminiscences. The work is executed along the lines...
Canvas, Oil
$1,394Sale Price|20% Off
Gouache Of A Shipwreck In A Storm With Gothic Ruins. Early 19th Century
Located in Firenze, IT
Gouache of a Shipwreck in a Storm with Gothic Ruins, Early 19th Century Technique: Gouache on paper Period: Early 19th century Description: This romantic painting depicts a dramatic ...
Paper, Tempera, Gouache
$2,146Sale Price|46% Off
Farm Scene with Haystacks in the English Countryside by Realist Landscape Artist
By James Wright
Located in Preston, GB
Farm Scene with Haystacks in the English Countryside by British Landscape Artist, James Wright. Signed, Original, Oil on Canvas, housed in a gilt frame ...
Canvas, Oil
$2,500
#3669
By Hiro Yokose
Located in Phoenix, AZ
oil and wax on canvas over panel Neoromantic painter Hiro Yokose fuses multiple layers of wax and oil paint to create mysterious, veiled landscapes illuminated with flashes of ligh...
Canvas, Wax, Oil, Panel, Wood Panel
Birger Hjelm – Våreldar ("Spring Fires"), c. 1935
Located in Stockholm, SE
Birger Hjelm – Våreldar ("Spring Fires"), c. 1935-1938 Oil on board unframed 80 x 84.5 cm (31 ½ x 33 ¼ in) framed 82 x 87 cm (32 ¼ x 34 ¼ in) Signed “Birger Hjelm” lower right; titl...
Oil, Board
Boys Playing Dice - Mid Century Figurative in Oil on Masonite
By R. Hauslar
Located in Soquel, CA
Exceptional detail in this painting of boys playing dice by R. Hauslar (German, 20th Century). A Hausler interpretation of a work by the famous Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1617-1650) ...
Masonite, Oil
Near Edgware Middlesex, English countryside with cottage and a mill with river
Located in GB
Frederick William Watts (1800–1870) was a British landscape painter associated with the Norwich School tradition. Born in Norwich, he trained under John Crome and was influenced by t...
Canvas, Oil
Timber Raft on the Rhine
Located in Plano, TX
Timber Raft on the Rhine (after the watercolor by J.M.W. Turner in the National Gallery). 1898. Mezzotint. Hardie 66. 8 1/4 x 11 11/16 (sheet 10 5/16 x 13 1/2). Edition 100. A rich, ...
Mezzotint
$1,351Sale Price|20% Off
Painting of a Mountain in Lake District England by 20th Century British Artist
By James Wright
Located in Preston, GB
Painting of a Mountain in Lake District England by 20th Century British Landscape Artist, James Wright. Signed, Original, Oil on Canvas, housed in a beautiful ornate gold frame. Prov...
Canvas, Oil
Cairo with Murad Bey's Palace: A Hand-colored Aquatint & Engraving by L. Mayer
By Luigi Mayer
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a hand-colored aquatint and engraving entitled "Principal Square in Grand Cairo, with Murad Bey's Palace", published in London by R. Bowyer in 1801. The print was created by ...
Engraving, Aquatint
The Daily Tasks of Rural Life, c. 1860, Romanticism Oil Painting.
Located in Stockholm, SE
This serene landscape painting is by James Howe Carse, a Scottish-Australian artist whose lineage and mentorship are deeply rooted in the artistic traditions of his time. Carse's wor...
Canvas, Oil
Evening Calm by the Northern River
By Oscar Lycke
Located in Stockholm, SE
ink on paper signed OSC. LYCKE unframed 24 x 34 cm (9.4 x 13.4 in) framed 33.5 x 43.5 cm (13.2 x 17.1 in) Provenance: Acquired directly from Katarina Gunnarsson, who inherited the ...
Paper, Pencil
French Countryside Pastoral Landscape Early 20th Century
Located in Soquel, CA
Early 20th Century French Countryside Pastoral Landscape Beautiful early 20th century Romantic period European landscape by an unknown artist, circa 1900. This pastoral scene featur...
Canvas, Oil
An Autumn Landscape
Located in Sheffield, MA
Arnold Marc Gorter Dutch, 1866-1933 An Autumn Landscape Oil on canvas 26 ¼ by 33 ¾ in, w/ frame 35 ¾ by 43 ¼ in Signed "A.M. Gorter" lower right Inventory Number: 01927 Arnold Mar...
Canvas, Oil
$1,480Sale Price|20% Off
Greek Classical Scene of "Death of Agamemnon" Oil on metal
Located in Soquel, CA
Greek Classical Scene of "Death of Agamemnon" Oil on metal Beautifully detailed oil painting with classical scene with romantic-esque brushwork and details by unknown artist. Painti...
Metal
$2,207
PORTRAIT OF REBECCA AT THE FOUNTAIN - In the Manner of Guffens - Oil on paint
By I. Di Matteo
Located in Napoli, IT
Portrait of rebecca at the fountain - I. Di Matteo Italia 1998 - Oil on canvas cm. 80x60 This magnificent painting by I. De Matteo is the rein...
Canvas, Oil
$1,689
Trees & Cottage in the English Countryside by 20th Century Landscape Artist
By James Wright
Located in Preston, GB
Trees & Cottage in the English Countryside by 20th Century British Landscape Artist, James Wright Signed, Original, Oil on Canvas, housed in a beautiful ornate gold frame. Provenanc...
Canvas, Oil
Venus of the Grotticella Fountain, Giambologna, Mid 19th Century
Located in Grand Rapids, MI
Signed: Morrow '65 (Lower, Right) " Venus of the Grotticella Fountain ", 1865 Oil on Paper 14 1/2" x 10" Housed in a 2 3/4" Ornamented Frame Overall Size: 19 1/2" x 15" The f...
Paper, Oil
$2,551Sale Price|21% Off
G. Jeanson (Venetian painter) - 19th century Venice lagoon at sunset
Located in Varmo, IT
G. Jeanson (active in Venice, 19th century) - View of the Venice lagoon with gondola and figures at sunset. 65.5 x 54.5 cm (without frame) - 76.5 x 62.5 cm (with frame). Oil on can...
Canvas, Oil, ABS
$1,946Sale Price|20% Off
Wild Horses and a Snake: Romantic Mid-19th Century Oil Painting
Located in GB
Ferdinand Sigmund Lachenwitz was a German painter active in the mid-nineteenth century, working within the traditions of Romanticism and academic realism. Born in 1820, he was traine...
Canvas, Oil
$1,600
Tambien Esto Etching, Romantic Style, Early 19th Century, Excellent
Located in Aventura, FL
Tambien esto / So is this (Disasters of War, plate 43, Harris 163, Delteil 162). Original etching, burnished aquatint, and burnisher, c. 1808-1814. The clergy are running; their floc...
Drypoint, Etching, Paper
$1,859Sale Price|20% Off
WAPPERS Painting Belgian 19th romantic Oil on panel wood mandoline woman player
Located in PARIS, FR
Gustave WAPPERS (Attributed to) Anvers, 1803 - Paris, 1874 Oil on panel Trace of monogram lower right 42.5 x 31.5 cm (59.5 x 49.5 cm with the frame) XIXth century frame in carved woo...
Oil
19th Century English School Painting of a Boy Reading with His terrier Dog
Located in GB
An enchanting and intimate 19th-century genre painting depicting a young boy seated beside his loyal terrier dog within a rustic interior. Illuminated by soft, atmospheric light, the...
Canvas, Oil
Portrait Alfred de MUSSET cigar French Romantic Painting 19th POTTIN
Located in PARIS, FR
Henri POTTIN Paris, 1820 - Paris, 1864 Presumed Portrait of Alfred de Musset Oil on canvas 33 x 25 cm (45 x 36 cm with frame) Signed and dated lower left "h. Pxxxin / 1844" Inscri...
Oil
$10,368Sale Price|40% Off
Early 1800s Scottish seascape after JMW Turner by two Nasmyth sisters
Located in Hillsborough, NC
Atmospheric and dramatic seascape painted by two sisters from the famed Nasmyth family of 18th/19th century Scottish artists. The names of A G Nasmyth (Anne Gibson) and Jane Nasmyth ...
Oil, Canvas