NEOCLASSICAL ART

Revision

Introduction

It flourished in Europe and North America from mid to end of 18th centuryThey sought to replace the frivolity of the Rococo with a style logical and solemnIt was the official art of the revolutionsIt has a deep moral sense.

Architecture

The model was Rome (because Herculaneum, Pompeii and Athens were not discoveredNew archaeological finds extended architecture’s formal vocabularyThis style is known as Adam style (Britain) , Revival (US)

Architecture

Architects and works:LedouxPercier and Fontaine: triumphal arches in ParisRobert AdamSchinkelBulfinch: US Capitol, Monticello

Sculpture

Less revolutionary impact due to the influence of Classicism during RenaissanceSculptors avoided dramatic twisting posesColoured marble is not usedIdealized forms carved from white marble

Sculpture

Canova:His works have exquisite finishing and near resemblance to real lifeImages are attractive, full of grace, elegantMen deficient in dignityFemale faces pleasingHe enjoyed a high reputation even if his works can not compete with those of the big sculptors of other periodsWorks: Apollo and Psyche, The Three Graces

Sculpture

Thorvaldsen:Danish sculptor, one of the biggest representatives of Neoclassical periodHe embodied the style of classical GreekMotives taken from Greek mythologyPortraits of important personalitiesWorks: Mary Magdalene, Zeus and Ganymede, Pope Pius VII.

Painting

Centred in Rome, where painters met around the German art historian WinckelmannCompositions are more simple than BaroqueSubjects inspired in mythologySolemn and austere theme and treatments, and archaeologically correct in details

Painting

Painters began to emulate the flat, silhouetted figures of Greek vase paintingThe style was successful and imitatedSome approaches are just two-dimensional

Painting

Jacques-Louis David:Supporter of the French RevolutionHe used grand manners in his early workHe directed the AcademeHe produced numerous propaganda exercisesWorks: The Oath of the Horatii, Death of Marat, the Oath of the Tennis Court

Painting

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres:It is responsive to clothing and the postures dictated by costumeLacked of spontaneityMannered and too finished workPortraits in which linked realism with abstractionSought for perfectionism

Painting

Portraits of women considered implying a sexual submissivenessHe depicted nudesInfluence of the exotic (harem)Refined erotic images with women full of carnal presenceWorks: The Big Bather, the Odalisque, the Turkish Bath