neoclassicism

Art

2022

We explain what neoclassicism is and its manifestations in literature, architecture, painting and music. Also, their representatives.

Antonio Canova was one of the most important artists in Neoclassicism.

What is neoclassicism?

Neoclassicism (that is, "new classicism") was an artistic movement that emerged in the 18th century, as a reaction to the abundance of forms and the sensual frivolity of the baroque and of the rococo, prevailing from the previous century.

It rescued the aesthetic values ​​of classical Greco-Roman antiquity, that is, it aspired to continue or retake what was proposed by the classicism.

Neoclassicism, however, is much more than a simple renewal of classicism: it emerged in the middle of the era of Illustration French, aspired to reflect the values simplicity, seriousness and rationality that were typical of the time, and that had been exalted in times of the Ancient Greece.

In this sense, neoclassicism is the art form typical of the Enlightenment and the so-called “Age of Enlightenment”.

Like classicism, the neoclassical style markedly influenced various forms of art, as the literature, the painting, the architecture and the music. Arisen in Napoleonic France, it coincided with the decline of Bonapartism, and finally lost followers in favor of the Romanticism.

General characteristics of neoclassicism

Neoclassicism is characterized, broadly speaking, by:

  • Its aesthetic principle reflects human reason: clarity of forms, colors sober, flat spaces, strong vertical and horizontal lines, and in general terms a commitment to simplicity and linearity.
  • The color and the stain, as well as the author's brushstrokes, which were so appreciated in Baroque painting, give way to the correction of the line, the He drew and the form.
  • It returns to the Greco-Roman imaginary of the classical era: mythology, epic, greek myths, etc. Contemporary historical themes were also valued, such as the French Revolution.
  • In general lines, neoclassicism consisted of a continuation of the proposals of classicism, but much more politically charged.

Literary neoclassicism

Voltaire cultivated both essays and dramaturgy.

Neoclassical literature was strongly influenced by the philosophy dominant of the time, in which religious thought was rejected and the cult of human reason was promoted.

With the same informative eagerness to The encyclopedia, literature became more accessible to the public, offering itself as a social instrument, reacting against baroque forms, which could become very hermetic. The rehearsal was the most cultivated genre, with a desire to disseminate, although the poetry and the fable also resurfaced, especially those that used animals as an example.

Neoclassical literature offered a critique of the traditions, reflecting on the role of women and the importance of education. He often constructed texts with moral teachings.

It should be noted that Spain, of all European countries, resisted neoclassicism and continued with the Baroque style in poetry and theater. However, over time many playwrights ended up following the French model, which recovered the principles of Aristotle and Horace.

Neoclassicism in architecture

A rational architectural model was sought.

Neoclassical architecture responded to the idea of The encyclopedia that space could influence the way of thinking and the traditions from the people. Thus, constructions connected with civic life predominated, such as libraries, hospitals, museums, theaters or parks, always designed with a monumental character.

Far from the excesses of the baroque, architecture returned to the classical to find patterns that could be considered "universal", in which functionality prevailed over ornament. The architects embrace a rational architectural model, inspired by the Greco-Roman, Egyptian or even the past. Asia less.

There were also those who bet on buildings with geometric forms (called utopian or revolutionary architects of the neoclassical). As a moderate response to the latter, a picturesque architecture emerged, whose gardens moved away from French geometry, seeking to combine the nature and the architectural.

Neoclassicism in painting

The predominant technique was oil on canvas.

Situated between Rococo and Romanticism in the history of painting, the neoclassical style has features very similar to its predecessor and its successor, which makes it difficult to draw stylistic limits. However, the predominance of Greco-Roman themes is notorious, from the Middle Ages or of Asian civilizations, with exotic and ancestral dyes.

Broadly speaking, it was a painting in which the He drew and the form predominated over the color, thus producing works bathed in a cold and crystalline light. The history and classical motifs were the main subjects to be painted, and although there were frescoes, in general oil on canvas predominated.

Neoclassicism in music

In the case of music, the historical distinctions are slightly different. Generally, what we call "classical music" is the music of classicism (late 18th century and early 19th century), which temporarily coincided with the neoclassical style.

This is partly due to the fact that there was no Greco-Roman musical heritage to recover, since the ancients did not have a method of musical writing that would allow it to be preserved. However, the music of this period was governed by the precepts of mastery of form, moderation in emotional display and technical musical devices.

On the other hand, in the 20th century, after the First World War (1914-1918), composers like Igor Stravinski and Paul Hindemith started a movement called "neoclassical music." The name is due to the fact that they composed works in which the desire to recover classical music was notorious (Haydn and Mozart, in particular).

However, this movement has nothing to do with the neoclassical period as we have developed it in this article.

Authors and representatives

Rousseau's political ideas were a great contribution to the French Revolution.

A very condensed list of the main artists and representatives of neoclassicism would include the following authors:

  • Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825). French painter, whose importance at the time had to do not only with his contribution to neoclassicism, but also his participation in the French Revolution, becoming a friend of Robespierre and Leader of the arts of the French Republic.
  • Francesco Milizia (1725-1798). Italian architect and architectural theorist, important defender of neoclassicism, whose work was concerned with the urban dynamics of the hygiene, green spaces and the opening of public spaces.
  • Antonio Canova (1757-1822). Italian sculptor and painter, whose work came to be compared with the best production of antiquity and awarded him the title of the best sculptor of Europe from Bernini. He had no direct disciples, but he greatly influenced neoclassicism and was a reference throughout the nineteenth century, especially within the community academic.
  • Voltaire (1694-1778). With real name François-Marie Arouet, this French writer, philosopher, historian and lawyer was one of the greatest references of the Enlightenment, elected in 1746 to the French Academy. His work was varied, with a presence mainly of rehearsal and theater.
  • Montesquieu (1689-1755). French philosopher, jurist and essayist, belonging to the Enlightenment movement, is famous for his fundamental contributions to modern culture, including the thesis of the separation of the powers of the Condition, which dictates the order of our republics today.
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). Swiss writer, pedagogue, philosopher, musician, botanist and naturalist, he is considered at the same time a representative of the Enlightenment and Pre-Romanticism, since his differences with the Enlightenment movement were notorious and won him the rivalry of other authors such as Voltaire. His political ideas contributed enormously to the French Revolution and one of his most famous works is a fundamental text of politics: The social contract .
  • Denis Diderot (1713-1784). A decisive figure of the Enlightenment, he was a French writer, philosopher and encyclopedist, recognized for his erudition and critical spirit, author of revolutionary pieces in their genres such as the novel Jacques the fatalist and the most important informative project of the time: the Encyclopedia, or reasoned dictionary of the sciences, arts and crafts .

Latin American Neoclassicism

There was a Hispanic-American contribution to neoclassicism, centered on the triumph of the American independence deeds and the cult of its generals: Simón Bolívar, José de San Martín and Antonio José de Sucre, for example.

Also, in the Río de la Plata, the genre of gaucho poetry emerged, whose rustic language narrates the adventures of the gaucho from the Pampas. Most of the Spanish-American national anthems are perfect examples of the neoclassical style that influenced the America Hispanic.

Neoclassicism and Romanticism

Romanticism rescued popular themes.

Romanticism is the successor movement to neoclassicism, which replaced its desires for order and rationality with the search for Liberty individual and the cult of feelings, subjectivities and the genius of the artist.

Romanticism can be seen as a reaction to the classical and to the rational values ​​of the Enlightenment itself, born in 19th century Germany. Where the neoclassical aspired to the universal and the sober, Romanticism opted for the local and the sentimental, for the popular and the original.

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