The Artist as Hero

Before Romanticism, artists were skilled craftsmen — respected but not worshipped. Romanticism transformed the artist into a heroic, tortured genius — a prophet who suffers for truth. This myth persists: we expect artists to be eccentric, emotionally intense, and willing to sacrifice comfort for their vision.

Romantic composers, poets, and painters shared the conviction that intense emotion was the highest form of truth. Beethoven's late quartets, Shelley's poetry, and Turner's storms all pursued the same goal: overwhelming the audience with feeling that transcended rational analysis.