Romanticism and Postromanticism

Claudia Moscovici asserts in Romanticism and Postromanticism that the Romantic heritage, far from being important only in a historical sense, has philosophical relevance and value for contemporary art and culture. With an emphasis on artistic tradition as a continuing source of inspiration and innovation, she touches upon each main branch of philosophy: aesthetics, epistemology, and ethics.

Claudia Moscovici asserts in Romanticism and Postromanticism that the Romantic heritage, far from being important only in a historical sense, has philosophical relevance and value for contemporary art and culture. With an emphasis on artistic tradition as a continuing source of inspiration and innovation, she touches upon each main branch of philosophy: aesthetics, epistemology, and ethics. The book begins by describing some of the most interesting features of the Romantic movement that still fuel our culture. It then addresses the question: How did an artistic movement whose focus was emotive expression change into a quest for formal experimentation? And finally, Moscovici considers the aesthetic philosophy of postromanticism by thinking through how the Romantic emphasis upon beauty and passion can be combined with the modern and postmodern emphasis on originality and experimentation.

Chapter 1 Introduction: The Branches of Romanticism
Chapter 2 A Kiss Sent by Mail: The Expression of Passion in Rousseau'sJulie, ou La Nouvelle Heloise
Chapter 3 Between Two Worlds: Germaine de Stael'sDe L'Allemagne
Chapter 4 Lucidity and Passion in Diderot's Aesthetics
Chapter 5 Romantic Aesthetics: Wordsworth and Baudelaire
Chapter 6 Aesthetics after Romanticism: On Originality, Individuality, and Autonomy in Art
Chapter 7 A Sketch of Postromanticism
Chapter 8 The Postromantic Manifesto
Chapter 9 Postromantic Artists (postromanticism)