Beginning as a 19th century literary movement, Romanticism was all about the drama, glory, imagination, and the awesome (and awful) wonders of life Stirred by changing times across Europe, Romantic art championed humanity and emotions and celebrated nature in all its forms. As an artistic movement, Romanticism declined from the 1850s, but its influence lives on in the works of JMW Turner, John Constable, and Francisco Goya.