Question

Discuss Burke’s aesthetic of the sublime and how it informs the works of US Romantic artists in the 19th Century?

Answer 1

The sublime in literature refers to use of language and description that excites thoughts and emotions beyond ordinary experience.The literary concept of the sublime became important in the eighteenth century. It is associated with the 1757 treatise by Edmund Burke, though it has earlier roots. He connected the sublime with experiences of awe, terror and danger. Burke saw nature as the most sublime object, capable of generating the strongest sensations in its beholders. This Romantic conception of the sublime proved influential for several generations of artists.In aesthetics, the sublime is the quality of greatness, whether physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual, or artistic. The term especially refers to a greatness beyond all possibility of calculation, measurement, or imitation.Romantic art focused on emotions, feelings, and moods of all kinds including spirituality, imagination, mystery, and fervor. The subject matter varied widely including landscapes, religion, revolution, and peaceful beauty. The brushwork for romantic art became looser and less precise.Romantic artists rejected the logic and reason of other styles and embraced images of odd, sometimes bizarre things. This all contributes to this idea of the sublime.