Romanticism

A legendary figure of the Middle Ages, Melusine is a fairy or supernatural creature of dual nature: part woman, part water serpent. According to legend, she founded the Lusignan dynasty after her marriage to the knight Raymond. Her story weaves together medieval wonder, a curse, and dynastic origins.

A medieval legend telling the story of two lovers whose impossible love, sparked by the accidental drinking of a magic potion, leads them to tragedy. This tale of courtly love has inspired countless literary and artistic adaptations from the Middle Ages to the present day.

The demon of the Faustian pact, Mephistopheles is the Devil's agent tasked with seducing the scholar Faust. Made famous by Marlowe in Doctor Faustus (1592) and then by Goethe in Faust (1808), he embodies intellectual temptation and the corruption of the soul through the thirst for knowledge.

German philosopher (1770–1831), Hegel is one of the greatest thinkers of German Idealism. He developed a dialectical method and an influential philosophy of history, most notably set out in the Phenomenology of Spirit.

Jane Austen (1775-1817) was a major English novelist of the 19th century, author of romantic and social novels that subtly critique the social conventions of her time. Her work, most notably Pride and Prejudice, explores human relationships and the stakes of marriage with irony and psychological insight.

Lord Byron (1788-1824) was the most celebrated British poet of the Romantic era. A scandalous and politically engaged figure, he embodied the "Byronic hero": brooding, rebellious, and passionate. He died in Greece while fighting for Greek independence.

German composer (1770–1827) who marked the transition between musical classicism and romanticism. Despite his progressive deafness, he created major works that revolutionized Western music, including the famous 9th Symphony.

Germaine de Staël, daughter of minister Necker, was one of the great intellectual voices of her era. A novelist, essayist, and salon hostess, she stood up to Napoleon, who exiled her, and helped introduce German Romanticism to France with her work *De l'Allemagne*.

A French writer of the 19th century, Stendhal is the author of the psychological novel The Red and the Black (1830). Known for his sharp analysis of human passions and his direct style, he left a lasting mark on French literature by exploring themes of ambition, passion, and social criticism.

British poet, painter, and engraver (1757-1827), William Blake is one of the towering figures of English Romanticism. A visionary and mystic, he created a strikingly original body of poetic and artistic work, combining text and image in hand-engraved illuminated books.

Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855) is Poland's greatest national poet and a major figure of European Romanticism. His epic and lyrical work expresses nostalgia for occupied Poland and the aspiration for national freedom.

Alessandro Manzoni (1785–1873) was the greatest Italian novelist of the 19th century and a central figure of Romanticism. His historical novel *I Promessi Sposi* (*The Betrothed*, 1827) is regarded as the first modern novel written in Italian and played a decisive role in the linguistic unification of Italy.

Considered the father of modern Russian literature, Pushkin (1799–1837) wrote foundational works such as Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades. Killed in a duel at 37, he embodies Russian Romanticism.

French writer and playwright (1802–1870), author of adventure novels and popular serialized fiction. Father of Alexandre Dumas fils, he is considered a master of the historical and adventure novel in the 19th century.

French writer and playwright (1810-1857), a major figure of Romanticism. Author of comedies and lyrical dramas, he is best known for his play "No Trifling with Love" and for his turbulent relationship with George Sand.

British aristocrat (1792–1860), self-taught mathematician and philanthropist, she married the poet Lord Byron in 1815 before separating from him a year later. She went on to dedicate herself to popular education and social reform, and is the mother of Ada Lovelace, pioneer of computing.

French sculptor (1795–1875) and pioneer of Romantic animalism. His bronzes depicting wild animals in combat combine naturalistic precision with dramatic tension. He is considered the undisputed master of animal sculpture in the 19th century.

An Austrian composer and organist of the Romantic period, Anton Bruckner is famous for his nine monumental symphonies and his sacred works. A deeply devout Catholic, he left his mark on symphonic music through its grandeur and his religious fervor.

Antonín Dvořák was a 19th-century Czech composer, a major figure of Romanticism and of the nationalist movement in music. He drew on the folklore of his homeland and, during a stay in the United States, on African American and Native American music.

French poet of the 19th century (1854–1891), Rimbaud is a major figure of modern and visionary poetry. He revolutionized poetry through formal innovation and exploration of the unconscious, before abandoning literature at the age of 20 to live as an adventurer in Africa.

The Brothers Grimm were two German writers of the 19th century, famous for collecting and publishing traditional folk tales. Their collections, most notably "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" (Children's and Household Tales), include stories that have become timeless classics such as Snow White and Hansel and Gretel.

German Romantic painter (1774–1840), a leading figure of pictorial Romanticism. His melancholic and sublime landscapes explore human solitude in the face of infinite nature and divine transcendence.

19th-century French poet and founder of modern poetry. Baudelaire is best known for his collection "The Flowers of Evil" (Les Fleurs du Mal, 1857), which revolutionized literature by exploring the beauty of evil, decadence, and existential torment. His work, considered scandalous at the time, profoundly influenced contemporary poetry and subsequent literary movements.

Charlotte Brontë was a 19th-century British novelist, author of Jane Eyre (1847), a masterpiece of Victorian literature. The daughter of a clergyman in Yorkshire, she published under a male pseudonym (Currer Bell) to gain acceptance in the literary world. Her work powerfully explores the feminine condition, independence, and passion.

British woman of letters and step-sister of Mary Shelley. Part of the circle of English Romantic poets, she had a daughter, Allegra, with Lord Byron. Her journals and correspondence are a valuable testimony to the Romantic era.

An American writer of the 19th century, Edgar Allan Poe is the undisputed master of the gothic tale and horror literature. His psychological short stories and dark poems deeply influenced world literature and laid the foundations of the modern detective genre.

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) was a Norwegian pianist and composer, a major figure of national Romanticism. He is famous for drawing on Norwegian folklore to create music expressing a national identity.

A woman of the French bourgeoisie whom Gustave Flaubert met at Trouville in 1836, when he was fifteen years old. This encounter left a lasting mark on the writer: she inspired the character of Madame Arnoux in Sentimental Education.

British writer

Emily Dickinson is one of the greatest American poets of the 19th century. A recluse in her home in Amherst, she composed nearly 1,800 poems, most of which were not published until after her death. Her work, innovative in form and depth, explores death, nature, and the human soul.

Esteve Comella was a nineteenth-century Catalan artist whose work belongs to the cultural renewal movement known as the *Renaixença*. He contributed to the development of the visual arts in Catalonia during a period of strong regional identity assertion.

French painter of the 19th century and leading figure of the Romantic movement. Delacroix revolutionized painting through his bold use of color, movement, and political and Orientalist subjects. His masterpiece "Liberty Leading the People" became an icon of republican freedom.

Fanny Mendelssohn (1805–1847) was a German composer and virtuoso pianist, sister of Felix Mendelssohn. Despite exceptional talent recognized from childhood, the conventions of the era long prevented her from publishing her works under her own name. She composed more than 460 pieces, including lieder, chamber music, and piano works.

Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist (1811–1886), Liszt revolutionized piano technique and invented the symphonic poem. A central figure of musical Romanticism, he profoundly influenced Wagner and European music as a whole.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was an Austrian composer of the early Romantic period, who wrote more than 600 lieder, symphonies, and chamber music. Despite his short life, he left behind a body of work of exceptional richness, distinguished by its melodic gift and emotional depth.

A French novelist of the 19th century, George Sand (1804-1876) was one of the most prolific and innovative writers of her era. A champion of individual freedom and equal rights, she left a lasting mark on Romantic literature through her social novels and a life that openly defied the conventions of her time.

A French composer of the 19th century (1838–1875), Georges Bizet is best known for his opera Carmen, a masterpiece of lyric music. Despite a relatively short career, he revolutionized French opera by incorporating bold dramatic elements and daring orchestration.

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was a major Italian composer of the Romantic era, creator of world-famous operas such as Rigoletto, La Traviata, and Aida. His musical work accompanied the unification of Italy and remains at the heart of the European operatic repertoire.

19th-century French painter and founder of the Realist movement. Courbet revolutionized painting by depicting everyday reality and landscapes in an innovative style, rejecting the academic conventions of his time.

19th-century French novelist (1821–1880), Gustave Flaubert is the author of Madame Bovary, a founding work of literary realism. An obsessive perfectionist, he revolutionized the art of the novel through his refined style and his critique of bourgeois society.

Danish writer (1805-1875) world-renowned for his fairy tales. Creator of timeless stories such as The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling, blending poetry, moral lessons, and fantastical imagination.

Irish actress famous for her Shakespearean roles, she triumphed in Paris in 1827. Hector Berlioz, madly in love with her, dedicated his Symphonie fantastique to her before marrying her in 1833.

Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) is one of the greatest German Romantic poets. Exiled to Paris in 1831, he became a bridge between French and German cultures. His work blends lyricism, irony, and political engagement.

French novelist (1799–1850) and founder of literary realism. He created The Human Comedy, a vast novelistic panorama of French society in the 19th century, comprising more than 90 interconnected works.

British painter and engraver (1775-1851), Turner is considered the master of Romantic landscape. A forerunner of Impressionism, he revolutionized the depiction of light, water, and atmosphere.

John Constable (1776-1837) was a major English Romantic landscape painter. He revolutionized landscape painting by observing nature directly and depicting atmospheric effects with great fidelity.

A 19th-century Italian prima ballerina, Marie Taglioni revolutionized Romantic ballet by popularizing dancing on pointe. Her performance in *La Sylphide* (1832) defined the airy, ethereal aesthetic of Romantic ballet for generations to come.

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Russian composer regarded as the father of Russian classical music. His operas inspired an entire generation of Russian nationalist composers and founded a distinctly Russian school of music.

Modest Mussorgsky was a 19th-century Russian composer and member of “The Five,” a group that sought to create a distinctly Russian national music. He is famous for his opera Boris Godunov and his piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was an American novelist and short-story writer, a major figure of dark romanticism. He explores guilt, sin, and the Puritan legacy of New England in a psychological and allegorical body of work.

Russian composer of the 19th century and member of The Five. An undisputed master of orchestration, he is famous for his symphonic suite Scheherazade and his many operas inspired by Russian folklore.

Poète français majeur du XIXe siècle (1844-1896), Paul Verlaine est l'une des figures centrales du symbolisme. Auteur des Poèmes saturniens et de recueils innovants, il a révolutionné la poésie française par sa musicalité et son exploration des états émotionnels intimes.

German composer (1813–1883), Wagner revolutionized opera by creating the concept of the total work of art (Gesamtkunstwerk). His music dramas, including the Ring Cycle and Tristan und Isolde, remain towering monuments of Romanticism.

Robert Schumann was a German composer and pianist, a major figure of musical Romanticism. He is famous for his piano works, his lieder, and his chamber music, as well as for his activity as a music critic.

Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded in 1909. This Swedish author is best known for her novel 'The Wonderful Adventures of Nils', which has become a worldwide classic of children's literature.

Italian countess born in 1800, Teresa Guiccioli is best known for being the last great love of Lord Byron, with whom she shared a celebrated affair from 1819 to 1823. After the poet's death, she dedicated a memorial work to him, “Lord Byron Judged by the Witnesses of His Life” (1868), a precious testament to European Romanticism.

French painter (1791–1824), a major figure of Romanticism. His masterpiece, *The Raft of the Medusa* (1819), marks a break from academic painting through its expressive violence and political engagement.

French writer and critic (1811-1872), founder of the doctrine of art for art's sake, which champions the independence of art from moral and social concerns. Author of novels, poetry, and art criticism, he left a lasting mark on the 19th century through his commitment to formal beauty and aestheticism.

A major French writer of the 19th century, Victor Hugo (1802–1885) is the author of iconic novels such as Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Poet, playwright, and committed politician, he championed the rights of the poor and fought against the death penalty.

Vincenzo Bellini was an Italian opera composer of the Romantic period, a major figure of bel canto alongside Rossini and Donizetti. His brief but brilliant career established him as a master of the long, expressive melody, before his untimely death at 33.

Scottish writer and poet (1771–1832), Walter Scott is the father of the modern historical novel. Works such as *Ivanhoe* and *Waverley* popularized the Romantic vision of the Middle Ages across Europe.

British painter and watercolourist, a major figure of Romanticism. A master of landscape, he revolutionised the depiction of light, atmosphere and the natural elements, paving the way for Impressionism.