In the last two decades of the eighteenth century and the first three of the nineteenth century, a new aesthetic trend prevailed in the creations of European artists. It is neoclassicism (neo = new), which expressed the values ​​of a new and fortified the bourgeoisie, which took over the leadership of the European Society after the French Revolution and especially with the Napoleonic Empire.

 

In the words of Edgar Allan Poe "the glory that was Greece, and the greatness that was Rome."

 

This the revival of the austere Classicism in painting, sculpture, architecture and furniture was a clear reaction against the rococo ornamentation.

 

The eighteenth-century had been the Age of Enlightenment when philosophers preached the gospel of reason and logic. This faith in logic led to the "ennobling" order and virtues of neoclassical art.

 

The initiator of the trend was Jacques-Louis David, a French painter, and democrat who imitated Greek and Roman art to inspire the new French republic. “Politically correct” art was serious, illustrating themes of ancient history or mythology rather than rococo frivolity.

 

The hallmark of the neoclassical style was the severe, accurately drawn figures that appeared in the foreground without the illusion of depth of the Roman reliefs. The brushstroke was smooth so that the surface of the painting looked polished and the compositions were simple to avoid rococo melodrama. Backgrounds generally included Roman touches such as arches or columns, and symmetry and straight lines replaced irregular curves. The ancient ruins also inspired architecture. Imitations of the Greek and Roman temples multiplied from Russia to America. The portico of the Pantheon de Paris, with its Corinthian columns and domes, copied exactly the Roman style. In Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate was the replica of the entrance to the Acropolis of Athens, with a Roman carriage on top. The main features are summarized: Return to the past, by imitating the old Greco-Latin models; Academicism in subjects and techniques, that is, subjection to the models and rules taught in schools or academies of fine arts; Art understood as an imitation of nature, is a true cult of Aristotle's theory; Sober, anti decorative, linear, anti sensitive style, come back to drawing, simplicity of nature, noble, serene, historical. In the last two decades of the eighteenth century and the first three of the nineteenth century, the new aesthetic trend prevailed in the creations of European artists. It is neoclassicism (neo = new), which expressed the values ​​of a new and fortified bourgeoisie, which took over the leadership of the European Society after the French Revolution and especially with the Napoleonic Empire. In the words of Edgar Allan Poe "The glory that was Greece, and the greatness that was Rome." This revival of the austere Classicism in painting, sculpture, architecture, and furniture was a clear reaction against the rococo ornamentation. The eighteenth-century had been the Age of Enlightenment when philosophers preached the gospel of reason and logic. This faith in logic led to the "ennobling" order and virtues of neoclassical art. The initiator of the trend was Jacques-Louis David, a French painter, and democrat who imitated Greek and Roman art to inspire the new French republic. “Politically correct” art was serious, illustrating themes of ancient history or mythology rather than rococo frivolity.