NEOCLASSICISM AND ROMANTICISM

The 19th century

Reaction, counterreaction, reaction Three movements to note:

Neoclassicism – reaction to baroque and rococo – trying to bring back the simpler styles and “pure” ideals of the Classical era (and Renaissance)

Romanticism – reaction to materialism and focus on religion and wealth – an attempt to focus on the individual, nature, and feelings – also to glorify revolution and social change

Realism – reaction to social inequality – trying to show the reality of human life and lower classes

Neoclassicism

- This was a revival of the styles and spirit of classic antiquity (Ancient Greece and Rome)

- This movement in art, design and literature reflected the developments in philosophy and other areas of the Age of Enlightenment

- Artists and philosophers were reacting against the EXCESS of the Baroque and especially the Rococo style

Neoclassicism (1750 -1850)

Artists felt that the Rococo age was just TOO MUCH and that they should look back to classical antiquity for the simplicity and balance they desired

Also made artworks in which Classical subjects taught a moral lesson that they felt people needed to see.

Neoclassicism

Jacques-LouisDavid, Oath of theHoratii

Neoclassicism in Architecture and Design – especially popular in early America

Interior of Mt. Vernon Estate, owned By George Washington

US Capitol, Washington

Virginia State Capitol, Built 1788

Neoclassicism in Design

Wedgwood Vase in theStyle of a Greek Urn, 1815

Portrait of MadameDe Verninac, Jacques-Louis David

Neoclassicism Main Ideas

Reaction against excess / consumption of the Rococo

Admiration of Ancient Greek and Roman style

Use of columns, mythical creatures, heroes of the past

Idea that the past was a purer, more moral, more “ideal” time

BIG EVENTS -- CATALYSTS

The American Revolution – 1776 The French Revolution – 1789 Napoleon Crowned emperor of France –

1803 Haitian Revolution – 1789-1804 (first

successful Slave revolt)

Romanticism 1780-1850

- triumph of individualism and the emotions

- Occurs after the French Revolution- emphasis on nature as symbolic of

emotional life - The “romantic hero”- Celebration of rebellion against authority,

individual freedom- Celebration of personal expression

Jacques-Louis David

Napoleon at St. Bernard’s Pass

1800oil on canvas9 ft. 11 1/2 in. x 7 ft. 2 in.

What does Romanticism look like?

Often what ties these together is the approach, rather than the style

Subject matter has to do with the individual, with emotions, with real historical events

We can often recognize dramatic skies as a common element

Jacques-LouisDavid,

The Death of Marat1794

Eugene Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, 1830

Francisco Goya

The Third of May, 1808

1814oil on canvas8 ft. 8 in. x 11 ft. 3 in.

Théodore Géricault

Raft of the Medusa

1818-1819oil on canvas16 x 23 ft.

Caspar David Friedrich

Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog

1818oil on canvas

Caspar David Friedrich

Monk by the Sea

1809-10oil on canvas

Joseph Mallord William Turner

The Slave Ship

1840oil on canvas2 ft. 11 11/16 in. x 4 ft. 5/16 in.