Romanticism.

I was so happy today that my bassoon teacher knows both Klee and Klimt.

Gesamtkunstwerk. All art together in unity. This was Wagner's creation.

Romanticism is a movement that began in the later 18th century, in Western Europe. It mainly encompasses art, philosophy, writing, and music. The ideas were to feel more, all feelings, from great joy to horror to awe. Beyond rational thought, and into the imagination, Romanticism thrived on the politics of Europe. Following the imagination was just as important as being the paragon of education. It fueled nationalism, a togetherness held by medieval ties between peoples.

One of the first real act of Romanticism was in Germany, when Jacob and Wilhelm collected the tales from the People (Volk). During the time, Napoleon was systematically taking over the world, and Romantic nationalism was in the air. There was also the Romantic idea that the medieval stories of knights and kings and princesses were pure ideas of the imagination, and that they had the right to be told. This is contrasted with the Classicists, who looked at the Greeks and Romans for inspiriation.

Romantic art is characterized by over the top contrast. In almost every painting I've seen, there's been near-white and near-black. It's also about feeling the emotion to it's fullest, and living in imagination. Letting that take over.

Musically, there is a lot of progression, although I don't understand the technical terms. Wagner was a big part of this movement, as was Beethoven, Weber, and Schubert. All I know is that Weber wrote some great bassoon concertos at this time, and the music is so atypically beautiful. And it's my homework this week.

I personally love this. I've read a lot into the brothers Grimm, and how and why they collected tales. I love politics of the early 19th century, and how the economies were changing, and how Napoleon was taking over everything. And America around 1815 was... trying to avoid a war about slavery.

The Whites and Blacks, the deep emotion, and the totally improbable but beautiful setting. Medieval ideas. Sounds Romantic. Bigger.