Neoclassicism was an intellectual and artistic movement of the 18th century that looked to the ideals of classical antiquity, especially those of ancient Greece and Rome. Key aspects of Neoclassicism included order, balance, harmony, and adherence to strict rules of form and style. Neoclassicism emphasized reason over emotion, and many Neoclassical artists and architects looked to classical models to inform their works. Their goal was to create restrained, austere works that avoided the opulence of previous styles like Baroque and Rococo.
Neoclassicism was an intellectual and artistic movement of the 18th century that looked to the ideals of classical antiquity, especially those of ancient Greece and Rome. Key aspects of Neoclassicism included order, balance, harmony, and adherence to strict rules of form and style. Neoclassicism emphasized reason over emotion, and many Neoclassical artists and architects looked to classical models to inform their works. Their goal was to create restrained, austere works that avoided the opulence of previous styles like Baroque and Rococo.
Neoclassicism was an intellectual and artistic movement of the 18th century that looked to the ideals of classical antiquity, especially those of ancient Greece and Rome. Key aspects of Neoclassicism included order, balance, harmony, and adherence to strict rules of form and style. Neoclassicism emphasized reason over emotion, and many Neoclassical artists and architects looked to classical models to inform their works. Their goal was to create restrained, austere works that avoided the opulence of previous styles like Baroque and Rococo.
Neoclassicism was an intellectual and artistic movement of the 18th century that looked to the ideals of classical antiquity, especially those of ancient Greece and Rome. Key aspects of Neoclassicism included order, balance, harmony, and adherence to strict rules of form and style. Neoclassicism emphasized reason over emotion, and many Neoclassical artists and architects looked to classical models to inform their works. Their goal was to create restrained, austere works that avoided the opulence of previous styles like Baroque and Rococo.
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ANeoclassical Art and Architecture
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is a term which describes the weltanschauung of much of the eighteenth century, a period known be several revealing epithets: the Age of the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, the Age of Elegance.
The artists and writers of the age reveled in and fomented the ideas of thinkers of the end of the previous century. The pendulum swings again, from the extravagant display of emotion characteristic of the baroque/rococo to an admiration for dispassionate reason.
o Sir Isaac Newton, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, 1687 o posited the law of gravity and the three laws of motion o provided the framework for a system that seemed to explain all the workings of the universe o Alexander Pope: "God said, 'Let Newton Be!' and all was light!" o Deism: The universe is a smoothly running machine, first set in motion by a vaguely benevolent deity; if man can understand the workings of the machine, he could master it. o John Locke, Second Treatise on Government, 1689 o social contract -- the power of the government rests on popular consent The fact that humanity seemed to be beginning to solve all the mysteries of the universe made some philosophers very complacent; in general, it was an age very satisfied with itself. The philosopher Liebniz declared, "We live in the best of all possible worlds."
Self-satisfaction leads to complacency leads to neglect of social problems leads to revolution.
In imitation of the Laws of Nature and of the ordered universe, laws/rules become very important to Neoclassical thinkers. Academies were established to define the rules that characterized good writing, good painting, and good music. These rules became standards by which all artistic output was judged.
The key terms for the age became Order, Balance, and Harmony.
In literature, the eighteenth century became the Age of Satire. Those who violated the rules were fit subjects for ridicule -- and that ridicule was meant to be instructive. Due to the proliferation of reading material thanks to the printing press and to a burgeoning and increasingly literate middle class, that instruction could be disseminated widely.
Artists and architects sought a new style that was not associated with the church or the monarchy. To find that style, they went back to pre-Christian civilizations, to the democracy of Greece and the republic of Rome -- hence the name "Neoclassical." Rules for the creation of artworks also deemed it should be edifying, and through the sale of prints, its "instruction" could also be widely disseminated (think Hogarth).
Neoclassical Architecture
The basic philosophy influencing neoclassical architecture is that of order, balance, and harmony, a philosophy reflected in the following characteristics: o use of classical vocabulary to evoke ancient Greece and Rome: columns, domes, round arches, pediments, simple geometric forms o all elements are arranged symmetrically; creates a balanced appearance o the overall feeling is austere: pure, clean, masculine -- a conscious reaction against the opulence and ostentatiousness of the baroque and rococo, both associated with the monarchy and church Many public buildings and state schools built in this style reflect the republican nature of their function.
