The early nineteenth century's cultural explosion owed much of its excitement to the battle between two opposing artistic camps. Fading Romanticism and youthful Classicism were throwing punches, and Goethe felt the tug of both sides. He considered both angles: the humanistic force of Romanticism h

Sir John Vanbrugh approached everything he did with audacity. The fact that he shifted in midlife from literature to architecture is proof enough of this boldness. But the plays were in themselves daring and controversial, while the architecture challenged the norms of the day. Clearly, it was not