Hanabi! That's where all the fun is tho, figuring out the story and finding the symbolism - but it's true - most of them are dead and you can never know the intended message. I think it's still fun to come up with something. :]
Merry - I may be wrong, but I'm thinking you have the wrong impression of
Romanticism - it's by far the most emotional kind of art.
Art Nouveau and Durer - I almost took a whole class at college devoted to learning about him. I forget why I didn't..time conflict or something. I wanted to major or at least minor in art history but one of the professors at my college is...the devil.