Summary

The artistic style known as "Neoclassicism" (also called "classicism")was the predominant movement in
European art and architecture during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It reflected a desire to
rekindle the spirit and forms of classical art from ancient Greece and Rome, whose principles of order
and reason were entirely in keeping with the European Age of Enlightenment. Neoclassicism was also, in
part, a reaction against the ostentation of Baroque art and the decadent frivololity of the decorative
Rococo school, championed by the French court - and especially Louis XV's mistress, Madame de
Pompadour - and also partly stimulated by the discovery of Roman ruins at Herculaneum and Pompeii
(1738-50), along with publication in 1755 of the highly influential book Thoughts on the Imitation of
Greek Works of Art, by the German art historian and scholar Johann Winckelmann (1717-68). All this led
to a revival of neoclassical painting, sculpture and architectural design in Rome - an important stopover
in the Grand Tour - from where it spread northwards to France, England, Sweden and Russia. America
became very enthusiastic about Neoclassical architecture, not least because it lent public buildings an
aura of tradition and permanence. Neoclassical painters included Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-79),
Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), Angelica Kauffmann (1741-1807) and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
(1780-1867); while sculptors included Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828), John Flaxman (1755-1826),
Antonio Canova (1757-1822), and Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844). Among the best known exponents of
neoclassical architecture were Jules-Hardouin Mansart (1646-1708), Jacques Germain Soufflot (1713-80),
Claude Nicolas Ledoux (1736-1806), John Nash (1752-1835), Jean Chalgrin (1739-1811), Carl Gotthard
Langhans (1732-1908), Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781-1841), and Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820).

For examples of interior design in France during the neoclassical period, see: French Decorative Art. For
fine furnishings under Louis XV and Louis XVI, see: French Furniture (1640-1792). For architects, artists
and craftsmen, please see: French Designers..

Origins & Scope

The revival of artistic canons from Classical Antiquity was not an overnight event. It built on Renaissance
art itself, as well as the more sober styles of Baroque architecture, the mood of Enlightenment, the
dissatisfaction with the Rococo, and a new respect for the earlier classical history painting of Nicolas
Poussin (1593-1665), as well as the classical settings of Claude Lorrain's (1600-82) landscapes.
Furthermore, it matured in different countries at different times. Neoclassical architecture actually
originated around 1640, and continues to this day. Paradoxically, the abundance of ancient classical
buildings in Rome meant that the city at the heart of the neoclassicism movement experienced little
neoclassical architecture.

In addition, despite appearances, there is no clear dividing line between Neoclassicism and Romanticism.
This is because a revival of interest in Classical Antiquity can easily morph into a nostalgic desire for the
past.

Neoclassicism - Characteristics

Neoclassical works (paintings and sculptures) were serious, unemotional, and sternly heroic. Neoclassical
painters depicted subjects from Classical literature and history, as used in earlier Greek art and
Republican Roman art, using sombre colours with occasional brilliant highlights, to convey moral
narratives of self-denial and self-sacrifice fully in keeping with the supposed ethical superiority of
Antiquity. Neoclassical sculpture dealt with the same subjects, and was more restrained than the more
theatrical Baroque sculpture, less whimsical than the indulgent Rococo. Neoclassical architecture was
more ordered and less grandiose than Baroque, although the dividing line between the two can
sometines be blurred. It bore a close external resemblance to the Greek Orders of architecture, with one
obvious exception - there were no domes in ancient Greece. Most roofs were flat.

NOTE: For other important historical stylistic trends like Neoclassicism, see Art Movements, Schools
(from 100 BCE).

Neoclassical Painters

Founders and famous artists of Neoclassicism include the German portraitist and historical painter Anton
Raphael Mengs (1728-79), the Frenchman Joseph-Marie Vien (1716-1809) (who taught J-L David), the
Italian portrait painter Pompeo Batoni (1708-87),the Swiss painter Angelica Kauffmann (1741-1807), the
French political artist Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), and his pupils Jean-Germain Drouais (1763-88),
Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy-Trioson (1767-1824), J.A.D. Ingres (1780-1867) the French master of
academic art, and the American expatriate Benjamin West (1738-1820). In Britain, celebrated followers
of Neoclassicism included: Sir Joshua Reynolds and the Irish virtuoso James Barry.

The most recent phase of neoclassicism - the Classical Revival in modern art - emerged between about
1900 and 1930, with active participants including Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Fernand Leger (1881-1955)
and Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978).

Famous Neoclassical Paintings

• Anton Raphael Mengs

The Penitent Mary Magdalene (1752), Gemaldegalerie, Dresden.

Parnassus (1761) Villa Albani, Rome.

The Immaculate Conception (1770-79), Musee du Louvre.

• Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

La Grande Odalisque (1814), Louvre.

The Valpincon Bather (1808), Louvre.

Portrait of Madame Moitessier (1844-56) National Gallery, London.

The Turkish Bath (1862) Louvre.

• Jacques-Louis David

Oath of the Horatii (1784), Musee du Louvre.

The Lictors Bringing to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons (1789) Louvre.

Death of Marat (1793), Musees Royaux des Beaux Arts, Brussels.

• Angelica Kauffmann

Self Portrait (1787) Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

• Jean-Germain Drouais

The Dying Athlete (Wounded Warrior) (1785) Louvre.

• Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy-Trioson

The Burial of Atala (1808) Louvre.

• Pablo Picasso

Two Nudes (1906) Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Seated Woman (Picasso) (1920) Musee Picasso, Paris.

Large Bather (1921) Musee de l'Orangerie, Paris.

Two Women Running on the Beach (The Race) (1922) Musee Picasso, Paris.

• Fernand Leger

The Mechanic (1920) National Gallery of Canada.

Three Women (Le Grand Dejeuner) (1921) Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Nudes against a Red Background (1923) Kunstmuseum, Basel.

Two Sisters (1935) Gemaldegalerie SMPK, Berlin.

• Giorgio de Chirico

The Uncertainty of the Poet (1913) Tate, London.

Song of Love (1914) Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Neoclassical Sculptors

Leading Neoclassical sculptors include Antonio Canova (1757-1822) who sculpted for Popes and
Napoleon; the Englishman John Flaxman (1755-1826) who also designed Jasperware for Wedgwood; the
Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) known for his Jason with the Golden Fleece (1802-3,
Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen); and Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828), best known for his portrait
busts in marble.

Famous Neoclassical Sculptures

• Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736-1783)

Character Head series of 69 portrait busts.

• Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714-85)

Voltaire (1770-76) Louvre, Paris.

• Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823)

Venus (1773) J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

• Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828)

Voltaire (1781) Bibliotheque de la Comedie Francais, Paris.

• John Flaxman (1755-1826)

Admiral Horatio Nelson (1808) St Paul's Cathedral, London.

• Antonio Canova (1757-1822)

Apollo Crowning Himself (1781) J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

Theseus and the Minotaur (1781-83), Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Johann Gottfried Schadow (1764-1850)

The Crown Princesses Louise & Friedrike of Prussia (1797) Berlin.

• Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1884)

Jason with the Golden Fleece (1802-3) Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen.

Alexander the Great Entering Babylon (1812) Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome.

Cupid and Psyche (1796-7), Louvre, Paris.

Perseus and the Head of Medusa (1797-1801) Vatican Museums, Rome.

• Horatio Greenough (1805-1852)

George Washington (1840) Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Neoclassical Architects

France

Jacques Germain Soufflot (1713-80)

Claude Nicolas Ledoux (1736-1806)

Jean Chalgrin (1739-1811)

Britain

John Nash (1752-1835)

Sir John Sloane (1753-1837)

Sir Robert Smirke (1780-1867)

Germany

Carl Gotthard Langhans (1732-1908)

Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781-1841)

USA

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

William Thornton (1759-1828)

Benjamin Latrobe (1764-1820)

Charles Bulfinch (1863-1844)

Famous Neoclassical Buildings

- Pantheon, Paris (1756-97) by Jacques Germain Soufflot.

- Rotonde de la Villette, Paris (1786) by Claude Nicolas Ledoux.

- Brandenburg Gate (1789-91) by Carl Gotthard Langhans.

- Bank of England, London (1792) by Sir John Sloane.

- US Capitol Building (begun 1793) by Benjamin Henry Latrobe.

- The British Museum, London (begun 1823) by Sir Robert Smirke.

- The Tegel Palace (1821-4) by Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

- Pavlovsk Palace (1781-86), Tsarskoye Selo by Charles Cameron.

- Buckingham Palace, London (1821-35) by John Nash.

- Arc de Triomphe, Paris (1806-36) by Jean Chalgrin.

Works reflecting the style of Neoclassicism can be seen in some of the best art museums and sculpture
gardens in the world.

In opposition to the frivolous sensuality of Rococo painters like Jean-Honoré Fragonard and François
Boucher, the Neoclassicists looked back to the French painter Nicolas Poussin for their inspiration
(Poussin's work exemplifies the interest in classicism in French art of the 17th century ). The decision to
promote "Poussiniste" painting became an ethical consideration—they believed that strong drawing was
rational, therefore morally better. They believed that art should be cerebral, not sensual.

The Neoclassicists, such as Jacques-Louis David (pronounced Da-VEED), preferred the well-delineated
form—clear drawing and modeling (shading). Drawing was considered more important than painting.
The Neoclassical surface had to look perfectly smooth—no evidence of brush-strokes should be
discernable to the naked eye.

France was on the brink of its first revolution in 1789, and the Neoclassicists wanted to express a
rationality and seriousness that was fitting for their times. Artists like David supported the rebels through
an art that asked for clear-headed thinking, self-sacrifice to the State (as in Oath of the Horatii) and an
austerity reminiscent of Republican Rome.

Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784 (salon of 1785) oil on canvas, 3.3 x 4.25m (Louvre)

Neo-classicism was a child of the Age of Reason (the Enlightenment), when philosophers believed that
we would be able to control our destinies by learning from and following the laws of nature (the United
States was founded on Enlightenment philosophy). Scientific inquiry attracted more attention.
Therefore, Neoclassicism continued the connection to the Classical tradition because it signified
moderation and rational thinking but in a new and more politically-charged spirit (“neo” means “new,” or
in the case of art, an existing style reiterated with a new twist.)

Neoclassicism is characterized by clarity of form, sober colors, shallow space, strong horizontal and
verticals that render that subject matter timeless (instead of temporal as in the dynamic Baroque works),
and Classical subject matter (or classicizing contemporary subject matter).

Essay by Dr. Beth Gersh-NesicHistory of Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism is a revival of the classical past. It developed in Europe in the 18th century when artists
began to imitate Greek and Roman antiquity and painters of the Renaissance as a reaction to the
excessive style of Baroque and Rococo. At first Neoclassicism developed in Rome at the beginning of the
18th century, but then it spread all over Europe partly due to the Grand Tour; the trip in which European
students travelled around the continent. At that moment great collections of antiquities began to be
discovered and revaluated. These discoveries, such as the paintings and mosaics found at the
excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 1738, increased artistic fascination and curiosity for
antiquity. Artists then according to Winckelmann began to study Greek and Roman art, using this new
knowledge of the past in their art, creating their own “new" classical style.

The neoclassical movement influenced decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music and
architecture and it continued until the early 19th century, when it began to compete with another
artistic movement, Romanticism. Neoclassicism was also an important movement in the United States.
American Neoclassicism took inspiration from the ancient civilizations of Rome and Greece both for
politics as well as for the architecture. In the United States ideals and principles have inspired
neoclassical buildings and constructions. Washington, D.C. is still decorated with these facades of white
marble, imitations of ancient monuments, and portraits of American presidents are depicted and carved
in the manner of Roman emperors.

Neoclassicism is the 18th and 19th century movement that developed in Europe as a reaction to the
excesses of Baroque and Rococo. The movement sought to return to the classical beauty and
magnificence of the Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Neoclassical art is based on simplicity and
symmetry and takes its inspiration from the German art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann who
believed that art should aim at the ideal forms and beauty of Greek art. As he wrote:

“The one way for us to become great, perhaps inimitable, is by imitating the ancients.”

The revival of artistic canons of classical antiquity came from the admiration for Renaissance art, as well
as Enlightenment and the earlier classical painting of the French artist Nicolas Poussin, as well as from a
dissatisfaction towards Rococo and towards the overwhelming Baroque style. Whereas Romantic artists
sought to paint the cruelty and vitality of action, neoclassical painters wanted to depict the beauty and
the harmony of a subject. They combine an idealistic style, using perspective with drama and
forcefulness according to Winckelmann's definition of the movement as "noble simplicity and calm
grandeur". Neoclassical works, therefore, are serious, unemotional and heroic. Restraint and simplicity,
along with precise depiction and close congruence of clear form and noble content, are the main
characteristics of Neoclassicism.

Neoclassicism was developed in Rome at first, but its popularity spread throughout Europe during the
18th century due to the Grand Tour; the trip in which European students travelled around the continent.
At that moment the great collections of antiquities began to be discovered and re-evaluated and a
neoclassical revival spread across Europe. Many European art students who had made the Grand Tour, in
fact, returned to their country from Italy with the rediscovered Greek-Roman ideals. The neoclassical
movement involved the decorative and visual arts, literature, theater, music and architecture and it
continued to evolve until the early 19th century when it started to compete against the movement of
Romanticism. Learn more about the movement in History of Neoclassicism.

Classicism and Neoclassicism

ARTS

WRITTEN BY: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

See Article History

Alternative Title: Neoclassicism

ARTICLE CONTENTS

Classicism and Neoclassicism, in the arts, historical tradition or aesthetic attitudes based on the art of
Greece and Rome in antiquity. In the context of the tradition, Classicism refers either to the art produced
in antiquity or to later art inspired by that of antiquity; Neoclassicism always refers to the art produced
later but inspired by antiquity. Thus the terms Classicism and Neoclassicism are often used
interchangeably.

The Parthenon, Athens.

The Parthenon, Athens.

© Goodshoot/Jupiterimages
00:01

02:17

St. Andrew, wall painting in the presbytery of Santa Maria Antiqua, Rome, 705–707.

READ MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Western painting: Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism was a widespread and influential movement in painting and the other visual arts that
began…

Characteristics

When used to refer to an aesthetic attitude, Classicism invokes those characteristics normally associated
with the art of antiquity—harmony, clarity, restraint, universality, and idealism. Because of the high
regard accorded to ancient art, “classic” is sometimes used to mean that the example is the best of its
type (e.g., a classical example of a villa). By extension, “classic” is also sometimes used to refer to a stage
of development that some historians and aestheticians have identified as a regular feature of what they
have seen as the cyclical development of all styles. In such schemes the Classical phase is the moment at
which the style is at its fullest and most harmonious expression; this phase is generally thought to follow
a primitive or less completely realized phase and to precede a “mannered,” “baroque,” or “decadent”
phase in which the style loses its original forcefulness and is sometimes meaninglessly elaborated.
Phases of Western art history that intentionally imitate the antique example directly are usually called
Neoclassical.

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In the Western tradition, periods of Classicism share a reverence for the models of antiquity, but they
may vary widely in their interpretation and application of those models, depending on the period and
the genre (such as painting, architecture, literature, and music). In the visual arts, besides the general
qualities associated with the aesthetic attitude of Classicism, classicizing artists tend to prefer somewhat
more specific qualities; these include line over colour, straight lines over curves, frontality and closed
compositions over diagonal compositions into deep space, and the general over the particular.
Nevertheless, whenever artists have referred to antiquity, they have carried the problems and ideals of
their own times with them, interpreting in different ways what antiquity had to offer. Classicism has
historically been seen as one of any number of polar opposites. These polarities may designate aesthetic
or critical oppositions (classic versus romantic, classic versus avant-garde), or they may indicate historical
oppositions (in the following, the first term of each pair is considered to embody the aesthetic
characteristics of Classicism: Renaissance versus Gothic, High Renaissance versus Mannerist, and
Poussinist versus Rubenist).

Architecture And The Visual Arts

The Classical tradition was not extinguished during the Middle Ages, but because of the resolute efforts
of 15th- and 16th-century Italians to absorb the Classicism of antiquity, the Italian Renaissance was the
first period of thoroughgoing Classicism after antiquity. The 15th-century architect Leon Battista Alberti
equated Classicism and beauty and defined beauty in architecture as “the harmony and concord of all
the parts achieved by following well-founded rules [based on the study of ancient works] and resulting in
a unity such that nothing could be added or taken away or altered except for the worse.” He said that the
“sculptor should endeavour as much as possible to express by both the deportment . . . and bearing . . .
of the figure, the life and character . . . of the person.” In painting, artists were to choose subjects that
glorified man, use figures suited to the actions being represented, and imitate the appearance of actions
in the natural world. In the visual arts the Classicism of the Renaissance is epitomized in Michelangelo’s
David (1501–04; Accademia, Florence), in Raphael’s portrait of Baldassare Castiglione (1516; Louvre,
Paris), and in Donato Bramante’s Palazzo Caprini (c. 1510; Rome; destroyed).

David, marble sculpture by Michelangelo, 1501–04; in the Accademia, Florence. 5.5 metres high.

David, marble sculpture by Michelangelo, 1501–04; in the Accademia, Florence. 5.5 metres high.

© nexus 7/Shutterstock.com

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The examples of antiquity and of the Renaissance in Rome provided the standard of Classicism for the
next two centuries in Italy, while in 17th-century France those examples, along with Alberti’s theories,
guided the principal French artists to a purified Classicism. Especially important were Nicolas Poussin in
painting (e.g., Landscape with the Burial of Phocion [1648; Louvre]) and François Mansart in architecture
(e.g., Church of Val-de-Grace [1645–67; Paris; with Jacques Lemercier]). In 18th-century England,
Classicism in architecture—based on the works and treatise of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio,
themselves based on Roman antiquity and on Renaissance Rome—provided standards of Classicism that
pervaded English and American architecture until the beginning of the 19th century (e.g., Lord
Burlington, Chiswick House, Middlesex, begun 1725; Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, Charlottesville, Va.,
completed 1809). The academic leanings of English painters such as Sir Joshua Reynolds provided lessons
in Renaissance Classicism that dominated a similar span of English and American painting.
By the middle of the 18th century, Classicism was being attacked from two directions. The authoritative
equation of Classicism and beauty was challenged by longings for the sublime, so that romantic
fantasies, suggestive allusions, and bizarre inventions came to be more highly valued than classicist
clarity and dignity. Likewise, the accepted superiority of Roman antiquity was being challenged by
supporters of Greece. The historian of ancient art Johann Winckelmann, for example, saw in Greek
sculpture “a noble simplicity and quiet grandeur” and admonished artists to imitate nature by imitating
the Greeks, for only they have revealed man’s greatness—a classicist doctrine translated from Rome to
Greece. In sculpture this program was followed particularly by Antonio Canova. In painting, on the other
hand, Jacques-Louis David reestablished the formal standards of Raphael and of Augustan Rome and
turned Classicism into a tool that served the new exhortative and eulogizing subjects painters were
called on to render (e.g., Oath of the Horatii [1784; Louvre]). Restraint, grandeur, and simplicity, along
with precise depiction and close congruence of clear form and noble content, continued to constitute
the Classicism in many of the works of such later artists as Pablo Picasso, Aristide Maillol, and Henry
Moore.

Oath of the Horatii, oil painting by Jacques-Louis David, 1784; in the Louvre, Paris.

Oath of the Horatii, oil painting by Jacques-Louis David, 1784; in the Louvre, Paris.

Giraudon/Art Resource, New York

After the mid-18th century, Classicism in architecture became connected with rationalism. Various
Neoclassicisms were spawned by reverence for Greek, Roman, or Renaissance models. By the early 20th
century, classicistic demands for harmony, proportion, and the congruence of parts were being applied
to new technology to give order to many styles. The architects Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der
Rohe exemplified two different ways of adapting Classical stylistic characteristics to modern problems
and materials.

The Other Arts

Periods of Classicism in literature and music have generally coincided with the Classical periods in the
visual arts. In literature, for instance, the first major revival of Classicism also occurred during the
Renaissance, when Cicero’s prose was especially imitated. France in the 17th century developed a rich
and diversified Classicism in literature, as it had also in the visual arts. The dramatists Pierre Corneille
and Jean Racine, together with the philosophers Blaise Pascal and René Descartes, were particularly
important. In England, Classicism in literature arose later than in France and reached its zenith in the
18th-century writings of John Dryden and Alexander Pope. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Johann Wolfgang
von Goethe, and Friedrich Schiller were major figures in the German Classical literary movement. In the
early 20th century, T.S. Eliot and proponents of the New Criticism were sometimes considered classicists
because of their emphasis on form and discipline.

In music the great Classical period arose in the late 18th century and was dominated by composers of
the German-speaking area of Europe: Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Christoph Gluck, and
the young Ludwig van Beethoven. Their music is polished, refined, and melodic. In their era,
instrumental music became more important than vocal music for the first time in history. Intense interest
in such music and in regularized “Classical” form led to the standardization of symphony orchestras,
chamber ensembles, pianos, and various compositional forms.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper, Senior Editor.

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Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism refers to movements in the arts that draw inspiration from the “classical” art and culture
of ancient Greece and Rome.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Identify attributes of Neoclassicism and some of its key figures

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Key Points

The height of Neoclassicism coincided with the 18th century Enlightenment era, and continued into the
early 19th century.

With the increasing popularity of the Grand Tour, it became fashionable to collect antiquities as
souvenirs, which spread the Neoclassical style through Europe and America.

Neoclassicism spanned all of the arts including painting, sculpture, the decorative arts, theatre,
literature, music, and architecture.

Generally speaking, Neoclassicism is defined stylistically by its use of straight lines, minimal use of color,
simplicity of form and, of course, an adherence to classical values and techniques.

Rococo, with its emphasis on asymmetry, bright colors, and ornamentation is typically considered to be
the direct opposite of the Neoclassical style.

Key Terms

Grand Tour: The traditional tour of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of
means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s.

Enlightenment: A concept in spirituality, philosophy, and psychology related to achieving clarity of

perception, reason, and knowledge.

Rococo: A style of baroque architecture and decorative art, from 18th century France, having elaborate
ornamentation.

The classical revival, also known as Neoclassicism, refers to movements in the arts that draw inspiration
from the “classical” art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. The height of Neoclassicism coincided
with the 18th century Enlightenment era, and continued into the early 19th century. The dominant styles
during the 18th century were Baroque and Rococo. The latter, with its emphasis on asymmetry, bright
colors, and ornamentation is typically considered to be the direct opposite of the Neoclassical style,
which is based on order, symmetry, and simplicity. With the increasing popularity of the Grand Tour, it
became fashionable to collect antiquities as souvenirs. This tradition of collecting laid the foundations for
many great art collections and spread the classical revival throughout Europe and America.

Neoclassicism grew to encompass all of the arts, including painting, sculpture, the decorative arts,
theatre, literature, music, and architecture. The style can generally be identified by its use of straight
lines, minimal use of color, simplicity of form and, of course, its adherence to classical values and
techniques.

In music, the period saw the rise of classical music and in painting, the works of Jaques-Louis David
became synonymous with the classical revival. However, Neoclassicism was felt most strongly in
architecture, sculpture, and the decorative arts, where classical models in the same medium were fairly
numerous and accessible. Sculpture in particular had a great wealth of ancient models from which to
learn, however, most were Roman copies of Greek originals.

The centaur Chiron and the Greek hero Achilles.

Rinaldo Rinaldi, Chirone Insegna Ad Achille a Suonare La Cetra: Executed in a classical style and adhering
to classical themes, this sculpture is a typical example of the Neoclassical style.

Neoclassical architecture was modeled after the classical style and, as with other art forms, was in many
ways a reaction against the exuberant Rococo style. The architecture of the Italian architect Andrea
Palladio became very popular in the mid 18th century. Additionally, archaeological ruins found in
Pompeii and Herculaneum informed many of the stylistic values of Neoclassical interior design based on
the ancient Roman rediscoveries.

image

Villa Godi Valmarana, Lonedo di Lugo, Veneto, Italy: Villa Godi was one of the first works by Palladio. Its
austere facade, arched doorways and minimal symmetry reflect his adherence to classical stylistic values.

Neoclassical Paintings

Neoclassical painting, produced by men and women, drew its inspiration from the classical art and
culture of ancient Greece and Rome.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Discuss the overarching themes present in Neoclassical painting

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Key Points

Neoclassical subject matter draws from the history and general culture of ancient Greece and Ancient
Rome. It is often described as a reaction to the lighthearted and “frivolous” subject matter of the
Rococo.

Neoclassical painting is characterized by the use of straight lines, a smooth paint surface, the depiction
of light, a minimal use of color, and the clear, crisp definition of forms.

The works of Jacques-Louis David are usually hailed as the epitome of Neoclassical painting.

David attracted over 300 students to his studio, including Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Marie-
Guillemine Benoist, and Angélique Mongez, the last of whom tried to extend the Neoclassical tradition
beyond her teacher’s death.

Key Terms

Enlightenment: A philosophical movement in 17th and 18th century Europe. Also known as the Age of
Reason, this was an era that emphasized rationalism.

Background and Characteristics

Neoclassicism is the term for movements in the arts that draw inspiration from the classical art and
culture of ancient Greece and Rome. The height of Neoclassicism coincided with the 18th century
Enlightenment era and continued into the early 19th century. With the advent of the Grand Tour—a
much enjoyed trip around Europe intended to introduce young men to the extended culture and people
of their world—it became fashionable to collect antiquities as souvenirs. This tradition laid the
foundations of many great collections and ensured the spread of the Neoclassical revival throughout
Europe and America. The French Neoclassical style would greatly contribute to the monumentalism of
the French Revolution, with the emphasis of both lying in virtue and patriotism.

Neoclassical painting is characterized by the use of straight lines, a smooth paint surface hiding brush
work, the depiction of light, a minimal use of color, and the clear, crisp definition of forms. Its subject
matter usually relates to either Greco-Roman history or other cultural attributes, such as allegory and
virtue. The softness of paint application and light-hearted and “frivolous” subject matter that
characterize Rococo painting is recognized as the opposite of the Neoclassical style. The works of
Jacques-Louis David are widely considered to be the epitome of Neoclassical painting. Many painters
combined aspects of Romanticism with a vaguely Neoclassical style before David’s success, but these
works did not strike any chords with audiences. Typically, the subject matter of Neoclassical painting
consisted of the depiction of events from history, mythological scenes, and the architecture and ruins of
ancient Rome.

The School of David

Neoclassical painting gained new momentum with the great success of David’s Oath of the Horatii at the
Paris Salon of 1785. The painting had been commissioned by the royal government and was created in a
style that was the perfect combination of idealized structure and dramatic effect. The painting created
an uproar, and David was proclaimed to have perfectly defined the Neoclassical taste in his painting
style. He thereby became the quintessential painter of the movement. In The Oath of the Horatii, the
perspective is perpendicular to the picture plane. It is defined by a dark arcade behind several classical
heroic figures. There is an element of theatre, or staging, that evokes the grandeur of opera. David soon
became the leading French painter and enjoyed a great deal of government patronage. Over the course
of his long career, he attracted over 300 students to his studio.

Three brothers are shown saluting their father who holds their swords out for them. In the bottom right
corner, a woman is crying whilst sitting down.

Jacques-Louis David. The Oath of the Horatii (1784): Oil on canvas. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, a Neoclassical painter of history and portraiture, was one of David’s
students. Deeply devoted to classical techniques, Ingres is known to have believed himself to be a
conservator of the style of the ancient masters, although he later painted subjects in the Romantic style.
Examples of his Neoclassical work include the paintings Virgil Reading to Augustus (1812), and Oedipus
and the Sphinx (1864). Both David and Ingres made use of the highly organized imagery, straight lines,
and clearly defined forms that were typical of Neoclassical painting during the 18th century.

Virgil is standing, reading. A woman has fainted into the lap of Augustus, and another woman tries to
help.

Virgil Reading to Augustus by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1812): Oil on canvas. The Walters Art
Museum.
While tradition and the rules governing the Académie Française barred women from studying from the
nude model (a necessity for executing an effective Neoclassical painting), David believed that women
were capable of producing successful art of the style and welcomed many as his students. Among the
most successful were Marie-Guillemine Benoist, who eventually won commissions from the Bonaparte
family, and Angélique Mongez, who won patrons from as far away as Russia.