The combined forces unleashed by the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic Wars cast long shadows over the first half of the nineteenth century. Of these, romanticism and nationalism were two of the most important. The Romantic Movement, which began in the late eighteenth century, dominated European cultural life in the early nineteenth. Romanticism stressed the liberation of human emotions and the free expression of the personality, and it challenged the Enlightenment's emphasis on rationalism. The Romantic Movement was primarily an artistic one, although it inspired philosophers and politicians as well. It included a diverse group of individuals that ranged from the German Johann Goethe to the English poet Byron. Their revolt against the Enlightenment had an enduring impact on European history and focused attention on a side of human nature that previous philosophers had often ignored. The Romantic Movement and its stress on emotion also influenced the spread of nationalism in nineteenth-century Europe. Nationalists believed that one's highest loyalty should be given to the nation and appealed to the common language, culture, and history of a group of people. Nationalism became a kind of spiritual force that rivaled religion in the nineteenth century, and it led to the establishment of new nations and national movements throughout Europe.

Nineteenth-century Europe witnessed the growth of three rival political ideologies: Conservatism, Liberalism, and Socialism. Each of these "isms" could present itself as based upon the fundamental aspects and aspirations of human nature, and as the only viable political solution to the problems of human society in nineteenth-century Europe. Nonetheless each focused on different aspects of human striving and behavior, and approached the problems of society and government with its own particular presuppositions and proposed solutions.

In 1848, the people of Europe harbored a number of grievances against their rulers. Liberals, radicals, and republicans chafed under the restrictions on political participation and civil liberties imposed by rulers across the continent, who feared making compromises that might undermine their power. Nationalists living under dynastic sovereigns hoped for greater autonomy or even national unification. A small number of socialists aspired to provide workers with a greater share of the fruits of their labors and to create a more equitable society. In February and March of 1848, these long-standing demands, stirred by a sharp economic downturn and popular discontent, produced a wave of revolution that swept across Europe. Governments from Paris to Vienna toppled in quick succession. For a short but euphoric time, it appeared that the forces of reaction had been decisively defeated and that the hopes of liberals and nationalists across Europe would be fulfilled. Within the space of months, however, conservative rulers and their supporters succeeded in rolling back many of the revolutionary successes, leading revolutionaries and subsequent historians to ask what had gone wrong.

Nationalism found expression in a variety of artistic media, among them paintings, monuments, and songs. This module features six paintings, ranging from depictions of Admiral Nelson's death in 1805 to representations of Swiss neutrality, as a way of illustrating the variety of subjects and events European artists used to express feelings of nationhood. From glorifying the death of a national hero to celebrating moments of a nation's past, artists such as Jan Matejko and Theodoros Vryzakis crystallized the beliefs of fellow countrymen and created monuments of nationalism to inspire others.