Neoclassicism

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

What is neoclassicism?

Neoclassicism (or “new classicism”) was a artistic movement that emerged in the 18th century as a reaction to the abundance of forms and frivolous sensuality of the Baroque and Rococo, prevailing in Europe since the previous century. It remained in force until the 19th century.

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

Neoclassicism is, however, much more than a simple repetition of classicism. Born in the era of the French Enlightenment, he aspired to reflect the values ​​of rationality, rigor and sobriety typical of the time.

It was no longer just about aesthetics: recovering the values ​​of Ancient Greece and Rome also served a political purpose. Neoclassicism It was the artistic movement of the Enlightenment and the so-called “age of enlightenment”, as it contributed to spreading the enlightened ideals of reason, progress, individual freedom and the search for knowledge, as well as the political ideas of democracy and citizenship, inherited from classical antiquity.

Neoclassical aesthetics manifested themselves in various forms of art such as literature, painting, architecture and music. At the beginning of the 19th century, with the rise of Romanticism and the fall of Napoleon, its decline began.

Origin of Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism emerged in the mid-18th century in Europe as a reaction against the Baroque, which had dominated the arts during the 17th century. The exuberance, ornamentation and theatricality of the Baroque were associated with the extravagance and excesses of the elites.

In parallel, the Enlightenment developed, which focused on reason as a way to understand all phenomena and questioned the forms of social, economic and political organization of the time. This caused the outbreak that gave rise to the French Revolution, the establishment of the Republic and the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity.

In this context, and partly thanks to the discoveries of archaeological sites and pieces of Greek and Roman art, renewed interest in values ​​of classical antiquity such as simplicity, harmony, reason and order.

These values, along with other Greco-Roman ideas such as democracy and the republic, They were adequate for the new reality. They were thus elevated to the category of “universal” and opportunely adopted by philosophers, writers, politicians and artists, which gave shape to Neoclassicism.

General characteristics of Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism is characterized, broadly speaking, by the following:

He put emphasis on reason

Neoclassicism had rationality and order as its principles, and rejected baroque exuberance. This translated into clarity of shapes, sober colors, flat spaces, strong vertical and horizontal lines and a commitment to simplicity and linearity in general.

He had a preference for the shape

In Neoclassicism, the correctness of the line, drawing and form were predominant, as well as the use of neutral and light tones, without too much contrast. These elements stood out over the coloring and author's brushstrokes, so appreciated in Baroque painting.

Inspired by classical values

Neoclassicism involved a return to the classical Greco-Roman imaginary, but unlike what happened in classicism, it was not just an artistic style, but a whole new cultural order.

Mythology, epics, values, legal and political forms such as democracy and the notion of citizenship, and even customs and language formed an entire current of thought based on virtue and moral greatness attributed to classical antiquity.

He took the Greco-Roman ideal of beauty

Neoclassical beauty was based on the Greco-Roman ideal of perfect proportions. Artists sought to achieve this ideal through the use of harmony and mathematical balance in their works, qualities that were seen as a reflection of the proportions of the universe. In this sense, neoclassical beauty was assumed as a universal and total ideal.

Literary neoclassicism

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

With the same educational objective of the Encyclopedia (the compilation of general knowledge that was a milestone of the Enlightenment), literature became more accessible to the public and was offered as a social instrument against baroque forms, which could be difficult to understand.

Neoclassical literature offered a reflection on customs, analyzed the role of women and highlighted the importance of education in contexts that usually had morals. The essay was the most cultivated genre and emphasized the didactic intention, although poetry and fables also resurfaced.

In Spain, due to the great Baroque tradition and the resistance of some sectors of society to the changes proposed by the Enlightenment, the Baroque persisted in the literature of the 18th century, especially in poetry and theater. However, over time many playwrights ended up following the French model, which recovered principles from Aristotle and Horace.

Neoclassicism in architecture

Neoclassical architecture responded to the idea of Encyclopedia (peak work of the Enlightenment, published between 1751 and 1772) that space could influence people's way of thinking and customs. Constructions connected to citizen life predominated (libraries, hospitals, museums, theaters or parks), always designed with a monumental character and in materials such as stone, granite and marble.

Far from the excesses of the Baroque, architecture returned to the classic in search of symmetrical, regular, mathematical and simple patterns, which could be considered “universal”, in which functionality took precedence over decoration. The architects embraced a rational model, inspired by the Greco-Roman, Egyptian and Asia Minor past.

The architects who opted for buildings with geometric shapes were called utopian architects or revolutionaries of Neoclassicism.

Neoclassicism in painting

Located between Rococo (ornamented, excessive and dynamic) and Romanticism (individualistic, imaginative and impetuous) in the history of painting, the neoclassical style had features very similar to both. For this reason, it is difficult to draw boundaries between one current and another: some artists went through all three styles.

However, the predominance of Greco-Roman themes (typical of classicism) is clear, combined with medieval motifs or Asian civilizations, with exotic and ancestral overtones (inherited from Romanticism).

In Neoclassical painting, drawing and form predominated over color which generated works with a cold and crystalline light. History and classical motifs (mythological and allegorical) were the main themes, and although there were frescoes, oil on canvas generally predominated.

Neoclassicism in music

What is known as “classical music” temporarily coincided with the neoclassical style. (end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century). This late appearance is due to the fact that, unlike what happened with architecture or sculpture, the music of classical antiquity did not have scores or methods that allowed leaving records to preserve it.

However, Neoclassical musicians based their compositions on the principles of sobriety, rationality, harmony and order that were reproduced in the other arts. Classical compositions were characterized by being moderate in the expression of emotions and by having well-structured musical phrases.

On the other hand, in the 20th century, after the First World War (1914-1918), composers such as Igor Stravinsky and Paul Hindemith started a movement called “neoclassical music.” This name is due to the fact that they composed works that sought to recover classical music, particularly that of Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). However, historians do not link this movement with the Neoclassicism of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Authors and representatives of Neoclassicism

Some artists and representatives of Neoclassicism were the following:

• Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867). He was a French painter, considered one of the greatest exponents of neoclassical art and a central figure in Western art. He was key to the renewal of interest in classical art and his work is known for its formal beauty and impeccable technique.
• Voltaire (1694-1778). Real name François-Marie Arouet, he was a French writer, philosopher, historian and lawyer and one of the greatest references of the Enlightenment. In 1746 he was elected member of the French Academy. His work was varied and was mainly present in rehearsal and theater.
• Montesquieu (1689-1755). He was a French philosopher, jurist and essayist, belonging to the Enlightenment movement. He is famous for his fundamental contributions to modern culture, including the thesis of the separation of the powers of the State, which governs today's republics.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). He was a Swiss writer, pedagogue, philosopher, musician, botanist and naturalist. He is considered a representative of the Enlightenment and pre-romanticism at the same time, since his differences with the Enlightenment movement were notable and earned 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 political text: The social contract (1762).
• Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825). He was a French painter, whose importance at the time not only had to do with his contribution to Neoclassicism, but also with his participation in the French Revolution. He became a leader in the arts of the French Republic.
• Denis Diderot (1713-1784). He was a decisive figure of the Enlightenment, a French writer, philosopher and encyclopedist, recognized for his erudition and critical spirit. He wrote revolutionary pieces in his genres such as the novel Jacques the fatalist (1780) and the most important informative project of the time: the Encyclopedia or Reasoned Dictionary of Sciences, Arts and Crafts (1751).
• Francesco Milizia (1725-1798). He was an Italian architect and architectural theorist, an important defender of Neoclassicism. His work was concerned with the urban dynamics of hygiene, green spaces and the openness of public spaces.
• Antonio Canova (1757-1822). He was an Italian sculptor and painter, whose work was compared to the best production of Antiquity and gave him the title of the best sculptor in Europe since the great Renaissance sculptor Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). Canova did not have direct disciples, but he greatly influenced Neoclassicism and was a reference throughout the 19th century, especially within the academic community.

Latin American Neoclassicism

After the wars of independence that marked the beginning of the 19th century in Latin America, the Latin American contribution to Neoclassicism was inspired by the heroic acts of the liberators and the construction of new nations.

Figures such as Simón Bolívar, José de San Martín and Antonio José de Sucre were immortalized in works of art that related them to classic heroes, symbols of the freedom of new times.

In the Río de la Plata, gaucho poetry emerged, a literary genre that narrated the adventures of the Pampas gaucho in a rustic and colloquial language. For example, the work Martin Fierro by José Hernández combined neoclassical elements with the idiosyncrasy and speech of the gaucho, and became an icon of Latin American literature.

Most Spanish American national anthems are examples of neoclassical influence in music. The lyrics alluding to the ideals of freedom, heroism and patriotism are framed in a solemn and grandiloquent musical structure, inspired by classical European models.

Neoclassicism and Romanticism

Romanticism was a reaction against Neoclassicism which replaced his desires for order and rationality with the search for individual freedom and the cult of the feelings, subjectivities and genius of the artist.

Romanticism can be considered a reaction to the classical rigor and rational values ​​of the Enlightenment. While the neoclassical aspired to the universal and the sober, Romanticism opted for the local and the sentimental, the popular and the original.

References

• Gombrich, E. H. (2016). The story of art. Phaidon Press.
• Hauser, A. (2015). Social history of art. Routledge.
• Official site of the Louvre Museum. (sf). Louvre.fr. Retrieved on June 19, 2024 from https://www.louvre.fr/