The arts in the Age of Revolution

The seismic political and economic shifts of the Age of revolution found fulsome expression in the creative arts, as artists and academies, composers, writers and poets all reflected on and engaged with the new worlds emerging around them. The intersections between revolution and the arts offered extraordinary new content with which to engage, epitomised by Jacques-Louis David’s the Death of Marat – one of the great propagandist images of the French Revolution. They changed the ways that works were commissioned and circulated, and encouraged the emergence of new forms, materials, and styles. The period left an enduring legacy from the likes of Mary Shelley, Jane Austen, Mozart, Beethoven, Burns, Wordsworth, Stubbs and Turner – to name a few – all of whom remain household names. The people, ideas and events of this time are still inspiring artists and artworks today such as Rowan Gillespie’s haunting reflections on the Great Famine in Ireland.