Depictions of a serene world

Couples in love, dramatic landscapes, historicising or orientalising scenes, faith and piety, nature and hunting – all are favourite subjects explored in European painting of the Romantic period, which saw the rationalism of the 18th century replaced by sentiment, imagination and the withdrawal of the individual to a private sphere. As a preview of the creative abundance of this period, Villa Vauban will be showcasing around forty paintings by French, Belgian, Dutch and German painters from its very own collection.