Overview of Neo-Classicism

$ Art produced in Europe and North America from the mid-18c to the early 19c.

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$

More than just an antique revival a reaction against the surviving Baroque & Rococo styles.
Linked to contemporary political events:
S

Revolutions established republics in France and in America. [Neo-Classicism was adapted as the official art style]. Association with the democracy of Greece and the republicanism of Rome.

1. Excavations of the Ruins of Italian Cities

Pompeii in 1748.

Herculaneum in 1738.

Characteristics of Neo-Classicism
$ Return to the perceived purity of the arts of Rome. $ Model the ideal of the ancient Greek arts and, to a lesser, extent, 16c Renaissance classicism. $ A conviction that there is a permanent, universal way things are (and should be), which obviously entails fundamental political and ethical commitments. $ Sometimes considered anti-modern or even reactionary.

The Federal Style in America

$ 1780 1820. $ Thomas Jeffersons influence.

University of VA

Monticello, VA

U. S. Capitol

The Death of Socrates

Jacques-Louis David, 1787

The death of Socrates was a symbol of republican virtue.

The Oath of the Horatii

Jacques-Louis David, 1784

A depiction of dutiful patriotism.

The Consecration of Napoleon & Josephine

Jacques-Louis David, 1805-1807

A very different theme: The celebration of worldly splendor and power.

Neo-Classical Sculpture
$ $ Profoundly influenced by ancient art since the Renaissance. Neo-Classical sculptors avoided the dramatic twisting poses and colored marble surfaces characteristic of late Baroque and Rococo sculpture. They preferred:
S Crisp contours.

S A noble stillness.
S Idealized white marble forms.

Antonio Canova

Apollo Crowning Himself, 1781

Perseus with the Head of Medusa, 1804-1806

Furniture
$ The furniture designs used Greco-Roman motifs. $ Became known as style trusque [Etruscan style] in France. $ Were favored by the court of Louis XV and later by Napoleon I.

The Sunset of Neo-Classicism

$ Sir Edwin Lutyens a monumental city plan for New Delhi during the British Raj.

Rashtrapati Bhavan [Presidents House]

India Gate Monument

American Renaissance Movement

American Museum of Natural History National Gallery of Art

Lincoln Memorial

A Neo-Classical expression in Beaux-Arts architecture.

Neo-Classicism Continued Into the 19c and Beyond.

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

Buckingham Palace, London

The Gate of Alcala, Madrid

By the mid-19s, several European cities were transformed into veritable museums of Neo-Classical architecture.

Romantic Period
Suppressed revolution
French emotional reaction Middle class dominance Underclass causes adopted Frustrations caused by Napoleon Revolution of 1848

Principles of the Romantic Era

Restriction no longer important Emphasis on emotion rather than reason Nationalism Stories depicted Nature in a mystical way Exotic

 The key belief of Romanticism was the value of individual experience or individualism Romanticism refers to a movement in the arts flourishing in the late 18th to the mid 19th century that rebelled against academic Neo-Classicism It was the first cultural movement to involve all of Europe in art, architecture, literature and music Romantics sought far away places and exotic adventures; It implies the placement of intuition and emotion over reason Sentimental and magical, feelings of melancholic, reverie, legendary, folkloric or chivalrousFusion of the elemental forces of nature, sense of awe inspiring emotion Sympathized with the fantasy and spirituality of the Gothic, interest in passions, increasing emphasis on mood
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Introduction

Part III. Painters in Europe

German romantic painting, like German romantic poetry and philosophy, was inspired by a conception of nature as a manifestation of the divine The greatest German romantic painter, Caspar David Friedrich Landscapes suffused with romantic feeling, chief expression of romantic painting in England: John Constable and Turner Goya (1746-1828), innovative Spanish painter and etcher By 1786 Goya worked in an official capacity for King Charles III, the most enlightened Spanish monarch of the 18th century The horrors of warfare were of great concern to Goya at the time of the Napoleonic occupation of Spain In 1814 he completed Second of May, 1808 and Third of May, 1808 (both Prado)

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Goya. The Third of May, 1808: The Execution of the Defenders of Madrid. 1814. Oil on canvas, Museo del Prado, Madrid

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