A Look At ‘Romanticism’ & Some Romantic Paintings Throughout History

Pop in to the studio and paint something romantic of your own this Valentine's Day season! :)

When people hear the word romantic, they often think of candlelight dinners and roses. But in art history, Romanticism meant something much bigger.
The Romantic movement, which flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, wasn’t about romance in the modern, Valentine’s-Day sense. It was about emotion. Awe. Drama. Nature. Individual experience. It was a rebellion against cold rationality and rigid rules.
Artists turned away from the polished restraint of Neoclassicism and leaned into passion, imagination, and the sublime — that overwhelming feeling you get when standing at the edge of something vast and powerful.


Emotion Over Perfection
Romantic artists believed that feeling was more important than technical perfection. They painted storms instead of symmetry. Revolutions instead of reason. Lonely wanderers instead of idealized heroes.

Drama, Revolution, and Fire
Romanticism was deeply connected to political and social upheaval. Artists didn’t just paint pretty scenes — they painted intensity.

The Sublime Power of Nature
Nature, in Romanticism, was not peaceful background decoration. It was wild, overwhelming, and powerful.



SOME OF THE MOST ROMANTIC PAINTINGS EVER CREATED:
While Romanticism (the movement) was about emotion and intensity, art history also gave us paintings that capture romantic love in its most intimate and tender forms.

'The Kiss'
Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss is often called one of the most romantic paintings ever made; 'The Kiss' is passion in Gold.
A couple wrapped in golden patterns lean into each other, suspended in a glowing, almost dreamlike space. The figures dissolve into ornament and light. It feels sacred, intimate, timeless.
It’s not just a kiss... it’s devotion rendered in gold leaf.


'The Lovers'
René Magritte painted two figures kissing with cloth covering their faces. It’s romantic and unsettling at the same time — suggesting longing, distance, or the unknowable nature of intimacy... It's love in Surreal form, as romance took on mysterious forms in the 20th century.

'The Lovers II
Marc Chagall often depicted lovers floating through the air in works like 'The Lovers II'. The couples in his artworks defy gravity, drifting across dreamlike landscapes. Love, in his world, quite literally lifts you off the ground.


'The Birth of Venus'
Sandro Botticelli’s famous painting presents Venus emerging from the sea; This is a symbol of love, beauty, and desire. The painting isn’t just about a goddess; it’s about the timeless allure of romance and idealized beauty. Myth and Beauty
Even centuries earlier, artists explored romantic themes through mythology.

Share    Come Paint Your Own Romantic Artwork   |   A look at some more Romantic Paintings