ABSTRACT
In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, art reflecting bourgeois taste and values was on the rise. Called by different names in different countries—Victorian, Biedermeier, Golden Age—it represented the visual manifestation of a new revolution that accelerated after 1815—the Social Revolution. Made possible by the earlier revolutions—American, French, and Industrial—it established the norms of the world we live in today. The aristocracy, whose power and wealth had insured the dominance of its values for centuries, was eclipsed by the bourgeoisie (affluent upper middle class) during the period 1815–48, which began with the fall of Napoleon and ended with Europe-wide revolutions. This was an exciting and tension-filled era, as the old establishment sought desperately to maintain control, and a new group fortified by greater numbers and greater wealth gained the upper hand. During this period, the values and norms of the bourgeoisie replaced those of the aristocracy.
