Neoclassicism and the Enlightenment

Neoclassicism and the Enlightenment

The Enlightenment was a time of great innovation and evolution. One of

the most significant movements which owes at least the majority of its

beginnings to the Enlightenment is the architectural and artistic

movement of Neoclassicism. This Neoclassicism of the mid eighteenth to

mid nineteenth centuries is one that valued ancient Greek, Roman, and

Etruscan artistic ideals.

These ideals, including order, symmetry, and balance, were considered

by many European generations to be the highest point of artistic

excellence. Although many movements in European art were largely

devoid of classical characteristics, they were always looked to as

sources of inspiration and were revived as significant movements at

least three times throughout European history, in the twelfth century,

during the Renaissance, and during the age of the present topic, the

Enlightenment, with its development of Neoclassicism.

There are several events and movements within the Enlightenment that

contributed to the rise of Neoclassicism. The expansion, evolution,

and redefinition of the European standard classical education was one

of the greatest causes, as well was the then recent archeological

discoveries of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The rise in commissioned art

and architecture and the refinement of art scholarship also gave rise

to this movement. Finally, the general reaction to the exorbitant

styles of Baroque and Rococo necessitated a return to the more orderly

ideals of antiquity.

The Neoclassical movement, for the purposes of this paper, can be

defined as the movement that, from 1750 to 1830, looked back to the

Greek and Roman artists, philosophers, and ideals as the highest point

in artistic achievement and then attempted to combine antiquity's

feelings of solidarity and harmony with new designs to create a

vibrant and exciting, yet distinguished and restrained art form. From

the "rustic hut" to Doric to Corinthian the art of the ancients was

seen as a perfect blend of "order, symmetry, and simplicity of style."[1]

This is what the artists and architects of France, England, and Italy

sought to integrate into their art.

One of the earliest causes for the rise of Neoclassicism is the

reaction by many Enlightenment thinkers to Rococo and Baroque art. The

Baroque was too busy and ornamental for many people and ...

... middle of paper ...

...ding Baroque and Rococo forms.

Neoclassicism was the dominant art form through a turbulent period in

history. It influenced and weathered several national revolutions and

international wars and because of its strength and balance, perhaps

the era was made all the stronger because of the art and architecture

that was the backdrop for the action of the age.

Bibliography

Irwin, David. Neoclassicism. London, Phaidon, 1997.

Watkin, David. German Architecture and the Classical Ideal. Cambridge,

MIT Press 1987.

Rosenblum and Janson. 19th Century Art. New York, Abrams, 1984.

Sculpture, 1760-1840." Eighteenth-Century Studies Vol. 34 (2000): 135

Hutton, J. "Neoclassicism." CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic

Libraries. Vol. 35 (1998): 1843

http://virtual.park.uga.edu/~232/voc/neoclassicism.voc.html

http://www.grovereference.com/TDA/Samples/Neo.htm

http://mistral.culture.fr/lumiere/documents/files/imaginary_exhibition.html

http://mistral.culture.fr/lumiere/documents/files/cadre_historique.html

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[1] http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=neoclassicism

[2] Irwin, 87

[3] Irwin, 98