The Sublime
Trigger Warning
This article includes images of people and animals in extreme distress which some may find upsetting.
The contemplation of that which was terrifying in the natural world might seem strange to us, but the Romantic movement relished it. From classical times it was known as 'the Sublime'.
The Sublime was that quality (usually in nature) which was so terrifying that the only sane response was one of awe. It was the experience of that which is normally beyond human beings. To some extent, this renewed interest was due to the Grand Tour undertaken by young men of means as part of their finishing. These tours invariably involved a crossing of the alps, and there are accounts of travellers being carried blindfolded so that their sensibilities shouldn't be unduly shocked by the sight of mountains.
Passage over Mt Cenis
JMW Turner
18??
The Great Day of His Wrath
John Martin
1853
Mountains and Biblical prophesies are fairly unsurprising when one gets used to the idea, but a focus on suffering is one which doesn't sit comfortably with many people today. It reminds us that a fascination with subjects which were terrifying is close to a fascination with subjects which are terrible.
George Stubbs was renowned for his affectionate and closely observed studies of horses, and yet he painted this scene which one imagines came out of his head rather than from observation.
Horse Attacked by a Lion
George Stubbs
1765
Human suffering was also a subject for some artists, perhaps because it entailed drama and heightened emotion.
The Death of Sardanapaulus
Eugene Delacroix
1827