Romance Part II: Goose Bumps,Tredipation and Awe

Handpicked on Etsy
Today I look at romanticism from the perspective of "trepidation and awe" in which artists invite nature to thrill, titillate, raise goose bumps and send a chill up the spine. 18th Century Romantics weren't merely having a bit of fun with the occult or spooky. They were taking an intellectual stand against a clinically scientific, rational way of viewing and categorizing the world. Emotion, precisely because is was not rational, was embraced by these artists as a source and goal of the aesthetic experience. Endeavoring to elicit strong emotional responses to their works of art and literature, the Romantic Movement not only addressed melodramatic themes of love, yearning, loss and sentiment, but also themes including supernatural powers, and nature's power to evoke a mood, a sense of foreboding or wonder, or literally wreak havoc with a poisonous flower or its stormy turbulence. These aspects of nature would remain mysterious and out of our control, despite scientific advances in our knowledge and understanding of it. Today's compelling selections struck me as being modern-day expressions of similarly romantic themes. Click on the pictures to go directly to these listings. Prices range from $1.00 to $94.95
From top left to bottom right, today's featured artists include: ImagineStudio, judemcconkey, shelostit, magickmermaid, BillyCurrie, twistedsisterarts, lancerika, ara133photography