This volume, illustrated with more than 450 splendid images, presents the history of Romanticism in a highly original way, offering an enthralling panorama of this all-important period in the history of art. By dividing the vast subject into twenty basic themes the author explores the various "souls" of Romanticism, from the myth of Napoleon to the Gothic revival, from religious images to the allure of the East and exoticism. There are chapters on landscape, dreams and the psyche, the concept of the sublime, along with insights into melodrama, Gothic romances, and the ballet, taking the reader up to the very threshold of the modern age and first signs of realism.

This historical and artistic story is illustrated with works by the greatest artists of the period — such as Caspar David Friedrich, Ingres, Delacroix, G￯﾿ﾽricault, Fuseli, Blake, and Turner in Europe; and John Trumbull, Thomas Coles, and George Catlin in America — along with works by minor artists who made important contributions. The volume includes a chronological table to guide the reader through one of the most turbulent and dramatic periods of history; brief biographies of the artists; a bibliography; and an index. Together these resources make this exceptionally comprehensive volume an essential introduction to one of the most fascinating periods in art history, a period that still influences the way we look at art and life.

Ilaria Ciseri is an art historian active in several of Italy's most important fine-arts institutes. She has worked for the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and has contributed to many art exhibitions on the art and artists of the Renaissance and the nineteenth century. Her many publications include Leo X's Triumphant Entry into Florence in 1515 (1990) and a study of the Italian painter Vito D'Ancona (1996). She contributed to Painters and Painting of the Nineteenth Century (1997).