Romanticism Arts

Sensation, imagination, and judgment are interrelated in the experience of art. Burke explains how sensation, imagination, and judgment determine the experience of pleasure and pain, and how pleasure and pain are represented by the aesthetic concepts of beauty and sublimity. Burke says that, in order to understand the origin of our ideas of the sublime and beautiful, we must examine the experience of pain and pleasure.

Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich has a painting that will leave viewers in thought. His painting, The Wanderer at the Sea of Fog, leaves us to ponder what has happened. We see a man, wearing all black, standing on a ledge of rocks. He gazes out into a beautiful open sky, slightly cloudy, with the sun setting. There is an orange haze left as the reflection of the sun fills the sky. However, we cannot see his face. We do not know his facial expression, if he is sad, or if he just wanted to see the view.

The end of pleasure may result in a state of indifference, disappointment, or grief. On the other hand, the end of pain may result in a state of indifference, happiness, or delight. Burke uses the term "delight" to refer to a pleasure which is caused by the removal of pain, while he uses the term "joy" to refer to a pleasure which arises in and of itself. As I look at this painting, I try and wonder if this painting hides real bleak feelings. I look at the gentlemen sitting on the ledge, and I wonder, is he looking down into the fog above the water? Was it possible that he lost his wife or children off that same exact ledge?

We are also to wonder if he is staring away, away from what he has, searching for a better hope. Does he wish to escape to the mountains across the sea, through that thick fog? Does he wish to know what lies past the mountains? This painting contains settings for that of infinity options. We look at the sky, and the reflection of light. Is there a sensation of great strength that we are supposed to feel? The wanderer, however, is dressed in completely dark clothing. His clothing is mysterious, and yet, it appears to be a beautiful day. The elements of the photo make it to be both sublime and beautiful. I feel a stir of emotions as I look at the photo, wondering what is this man doing, staring either at the sea, or at the mountains afar.

Romantic poet William Blake also has works that are sublime and beautiful. In his poem, A Poison Tree, we are given a story from which, we see how attitudes towards people can affect a life. In his poem, Blake states in his poem that he (a man who which he do not know who it is, but I assume it his in reality him) became angry with a friend. However, he told himself not to become angry, in which he didn't. When a foe then makes Blake angry, he decides to let his wraith grow. In this poem, we indeed see a dark character unfold. Burke stated in his writing that the mood of terror may be regarded as an exercise of the finer parts of our bodily system, clearing them of a troublesome encumbrance and so becoming, incidentally, a cause