For those who hear the words “art” and “revolution” and immediately picture a Banksy stencil, it’s time to broaden your horizons. The Bowers Museum’s latest exhibit, “Revolution to Romanticism: Freedom of Expression in 19th Century European Painting,” examines the effects of the American and French Revolutions on the romantic period. Characterized by passion, unpredictability and the exotic, romanticism was a response to years spent seeking enlightenment through reason and logic (and who needs that noise?). The exhibit features the masterpiece La Tricoteuse by William Bouguereau as well as the works of Rudolph Ernst, a westerner who looked to the east for inspiration. It’s been years since any of these masters walked the earth, but we defy you to check out the Bowers Museum and tell us romance is dead.
Nov. 23-March 23, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 2013
