the ideologies and events of the French Revolution created the primary context from which both Romanticism and the Counter-Enlightenment emerged.
Romanticism was also inspired by the German Sturm und Drang movement (Storm and Stress), which prized intuition and emotion over Enlightenment rationalism.
The French Revolution (1789–1799) followed by the Napoleonic Wars until 1815, meant that war, and the attending political and social turmoil that went along with them, served as the background for Romanticism.
Since the Renaissance, history painting was considered among the highest and most difficult forms of art. History painting is defined by its subject matter rather than artistic style.
This generation of the French school developed personal Romantic styles while still concentrating on history painting with a political message.
