Neoclassicism Art Movement: Style and Key Figures

Neoclassicism: A Reaction to Excess

Neoclassicism: The neoclassical art emerged in France in the second half of the eighteenth century as a reaction against the decorative excesses of the Baroque and Rococo. It continued in this country until the Napoleonic era, which was called the 'Empire Style'. It was a bourgeois art, austere and rational, based on the imitation of classical artistic designs, which gave it little originality.

Architecture

The architecture imitated Greek and Roman classical forms. Consequently, architects used stone as a material, recovered classical orders and proportions for supports, used casings or arched architraves, and favored pure and simple forms. The most common buildings were churches, palaces, and public buildings such as schools, prisons, markets, or hospitals.

Sculpture

The sculpture also copied Greek and Roman forms. It worked in marble or bronze, aiming for ideal beauty, simplicity, and serenity. Preferred subjects included mythology, ancient history, portraits, public monuments, and funerary themes. The most famous neoclassical sculptor was the Italian, Antonio Canova.

Painting

The painting, in the absence of direct models, was inspired by sculpture. This determined the high importance attached to drawing, with a disregard for color, and a prevalence of mythological and historical subjects. The most famous neoclassical painter was Jacques-Louis David, with works such as The Oath of the Horatii or The Rape of the Sabines, and themes of the French Revolution like The Oath of the Tennis Court and The Death of Marat. Another key figure was Dominique Ingres, whose most famous work is the Bather of Valpinçon.

Rococo Decoration Contrasted

Rococo decoration was applied to small rooms and cabinets housed in Baroque-style buildings. It is a graceful and delicate decoration, mainly in stucco or plaster, featuring decorative motifs whose wavy and irregular forms tended to cover all space.

Rococo Painting Characteristics

• The painting used a dithering pattern.
• Soft colors were employed (silver, blue, green, pink).
• Techniques like pastel and watercolor were applied.
• Themes represented were folkloric, courtesans, love, oriental, exotic subjects, and portraits.