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After the discovery of the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii in 1709. and the Industrial Revolution, artists and architects began looking a classical art as inspiration for a new age of thinking. This new way of thinking was rationally based, and focused more on personal and public emotion instead of idealized beauty and proportion. It was a "reactionary movement against the Rococo aesthetic that sought to evoke and promote the great philosophical ideals of antiquity throughout the revival of classical forms." 

 

IMPORTANT DATES

 

1795 - 1815: Empire Period in Europe (Reign of Napoleon)

1780 - 1840: Regency Period in England (Reign of King Georges)

 

1776 - American Revolution

1789 - French Revolution

1793 - Invention of Cotton Gin

1804 - Napoleon ruled Emperor of France

1804 - Slavery abolished in the north United States

1815 - Exile of Napoleon and his return to Paris

Jacques-Louis David (1748 - 1825) was a French painter , born to a prosperous family in Paris, whose political connections made him one of the cheif painters of the French Republic. He actively supported the French Revolution and was good friends with Maximilien Robespierre. After Robespierre fell from power, David was imprisoned. Upon his release, he became devoted to Napoleon I. During his Napoleon phase, he developed a very Empire Style of painting with his use of Venetian colors. Once Napoleon lost power, David left France for Brussels and then England, where he stayed until his death. 

 

During his youth, David experienced a lot of turmoil. His father died when he was ten years old and his mother left him with his uncles. He was educated at a college but was not a good student. He was focused on his art and a facial tumor made it hard for him to speak. He apprenticed with Francois Boucher who eventually sent him to learn from the Royal Academy (Louvre). 

Self-portrait. Jacques-Louis David. 1794. Louvre, Paris. Oil on canvas.

Francisco Goya (1746 - 1828) was the court painter to the Spanish Crown. His paintings were most notable for the social and political commentary they took on current events. He had a dark imagination and his bold use of paint will inspire future artists. Born in Spain to a father that was a gilder, he began studying art an early age. At fourteen, he studied under Joe Luzan and Anton Raphael Mengs, who helped grow his popularity with Spanish royalty. 

 

During his early years, he submitted paintings to several competitions including the Royal Academy of Fine Art which he was denied entrance. He won a painting competition in Parma, Rome in 1771. He was commissioned to decorate El Escorial and the Palacio Real del Pardo, where Spanish monarchs lived in and near Madrid. His popularity with the Spanish royalty, he was eventually appointed as a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Art. 

 

In 1793, Goya got seriously ill, and for unknown reasons left Goya deaf. He began experimenting with different subject matter and mediums. In 1819, he bought a country house outside of Madrid. He isolated himself inside and began painting what is later known as his "black paintings" right on the walls of his rooms. 

Portrait of Francisco Goya. Vicente Lopez y Portana. 1826. Prado Museum, Spain. Oil on canvas.

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780 - 1867) was a French painter best known for his depictions of history and his portraits. His schooling was cut short when his school was shut down because of the French Revolution. In 1791, he moved to Toulouse, where he studiend under Guillaume-Joseph Roques whom was very influential in his style. After he won first prize in drawing from the Academy in 1797, he began apprenticing under Jacques-Louis David.

 

In 1806, he had to leave Italy just days before several of his paintings were shown at that years Salon. His portrait of Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne received hars criticism for his "archaic approach". Chaussard, a critic wrote, "How, with so much talent, a line so flawless, an attention to detail so thorough, has M. Ingres succeeded in painting such a bad picture? The answer is that he wanted to do something singular, something extraordinary... M. Ingres's intention is nothing less than to make art regress by four centuries, to carry us back to its infancy, to revive the manner of Jean de Bruges." (Tinterow, 70).

 

He eventually was recognized with success at the Salon of 1824, and spent the rest of his life with hundreds of commissions for portraits. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Arikha, Avigdor (1986). J.A.D. Ingres: Fifty Life Drawings from the Musée Ingres at Montauban. Houston: The Museum of Fine Arts.

 

Arnason H. Harvard. The Sculptures of Houdon. London: Phaidon, 1975.

 

Dearlove, John. "Neoclassical Politics: Public Choice and Political Understanding." Review of Political Economy 1.2 (1989): 208-37.

 

Faroult, Guillaume, et al. Antiquity Revived: Neoclassical Art in the Eighteenth Century. Paris, France: Gallimard, 2011.

 

Gontar, Cybele, "Neoclassicism", In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000

 

Gowing, Lawrence (1987). Paintings in the Louvre. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang.

 

Irwin, David G. English Neoclassical Art : Studies in Inspiration and Taste. London: Faber, 1966.

 

Ledes, Allison Eckardt. Neoclassical Architecture. 158 Vol. New York: Brant Publications, Incorporated, 2000.

 

Middleton, Robin, and David Watkin. Neoclassical and 19th Century Architecture. New York: Abrams, 1980.

 

Tinterow, Gary; Conisbee, Philip; Naef, Hans (1999). Portraits by Ingres: Image of an Epoch. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

 

"What is... Neoclassical Art?" The Hindu: 1. 2005.

Self-Portrait. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. 1804. Musee Conde. Oil on Canvas.

Psyche Revived with Love's Kiss. Antonio Canova. 1793. Louvre, Paris. Marble.

Artists

Architecture

Angelica Kauffman (1741 - 1807) was born in Switzerland but is one of most skilled female Austrian artists of the time. Her family moved to Austria very early in her life because her father, also a painter, was working for a Bishop.

 

Her friendship with Sir Joshua Reynolds assisted in getting her noticed by the Royal Academy for her portraits. Her art displayed images of classical or allegoric subjects, and although the style of painting is reminiscent of the Rococo style, her subject matter makes her a Neoclassical painter. 

Self Portrait. Angelica Kauffman. 1770 - 1775. National Portrait Gallery. Oil on canvas.

Jean Antoine Houdon (1741 - 1828) was a French sculpter famous for his busts of philosophers, inventors, and political figures. Born in Versailles, he started his art career early by joining the Royal Academy of Sculpture and studied under Slodtz, Lemoyne, and Pigalle. In 1778, he met Benjamin Franklin and created a bust of him. Franklin invited him to come to America to do a work of George Washington, which he finished in 1786. In Europe, he fell out of favor as an artist during the French Revolution and narrowly escaped imprisonment. During the Empire period, he regained favor and worked on a comission of the COlumn of the Grande Armee at Wimille. 

Mathieu Kessels (1784 - 1836) was a Dutch sculptor who worked most of his life in Rome. His father was a carpenter and his brothers were architects and clock makers. He apprenticed Joseph Camberlain and worked several months at Girodet's studio. Several of his pieces were exhibited athe 1819 Salon. Because of this success, he was accepted to apprentice under Bertel Thorvaldsen. He soon became a teacher of sculpture. A few of his students included: Louis Jehotte and Eugene Simonis.

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736 - 1783) was a German-Austrian sculptor whose main body of work were his "Character Heads". He apprenticed under his uncles, Johann Baptist Straub and Phillip Jakob Straub. He worked in the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 1755 and worked under Jacob Schletterer.

 

His Character Heads have been said to be because around 1770, Messerschmidt suffered from hallucinations and paranoid ideas. To cope with his worsening situation, he focused on human personality and emotion. The roughly 50 character heads depict real people exhibiting real human emotion. This is far different than the idealized sculpture and paintings done in the past. 

Other Artists

 

 

Neoclassical theatre, like what was happening in art and architecture, returned to the classics for structure. The return to the values and conventions of classical Greek drama caused plays to strictly adhere to the unities of time, place and action. Plays consisted of five acts, and generally had verisimilitude of realism, decorum, and purpose. Directors  began to become the main decision maker instead of the playwrights. Celebrity actors became well known based on past performances. The Kembles, David Garrick, and Edmund Kean are well-known from this period. Theatres became large, allowing space for segregated social classes. Several playwrights from this period include: Cornielle and Racine. Many theatre historians argue that the Neoclassical theatre style never made it to the English theatre. 

NEOCLASSICAL & EMPIRE

Theatre

Costumes

The Directoire and Empire period in costumes brought a doll-like artificiality and complexity. For both men and women, there was an exaggeration in style. Most clothing in the lower classes will ill fitting because of the looting that the lower classes did in the Revolution. There was a hodge podge of styles that were greasy and dirty. In 1809, Ackermann's Repository began publishing papers that showed the trending fashions in society.

 

WOMEN: Women's silhouettes flatten in front and waistline rose. Many garments were worn without corsets. Huge wigs were dwindling away and were replaced with large hats. There was an effortlessness and casualness about the style of dress that mimiced the attitude of revolt that was occurring politically. As the period came towards an end, heavy amounts of trim and truffles were added to the hem of skirts. 

 

MEN: Men's clothing consisted of three main pieces: coat, waistcoat, and breeches. Clothing for men became more severe and less decorated. Coats tended to end at the waist and were either cropped, cutaway, or had attached tails. Pants were full length and had a flap that buttoned up on the front. Accessories included gloves and canes. When cravats were worn, they were typically worn over a stock. 

Architecture in the Neoclassical & Empire period placed emphasis on constructing the buildings in the right place amongst the landscape. Using Roman & Greek style, Neoclassical architects applied it to Renaissance & Baroque layout and format. In the Regency Style, exteriors became simplified by getting rid of all of the excess decoration and flattening out the remaining decoration. The interiors were highly decorated and reminiscent of Renaissance interiors. In the Empire period, interiors were covered in fabric, curtains and drapes were ornately swagged, and sometimes the walls or ceilings were covered in fabric.

Industrial Revolution

 

A boom in industry occurred when new techniques in manufacturing processes made the production of textiles and machines quicker and more efficient. It was a switch from hand production to machine production, chemical manufacturing and iron production. Some of the outcomes included the increase of steam power, improved efficinecy of water power, and the switch from wood to coal.

 

Robert E. Lucas, Jr argued that the real impact of the Industrial Revolution was that "for the first time in history, the living standards of the masses of ordinary people have begun to undergo sustained growth... Nothing remotely like this economic behavior is mentioned by the classical economists, even as a theoretical possibility." Several of the inventions coming out of the Industrial Revolution were the Flying Shuttle, Spinning Jenny, Printing Press, and Cotton Gin.

Reign of Terror

 

In France, 1793 to 1794 was marked by immense bloodshed at the hands of the French Revolutionary Tribunal. In less than a year, 16,594 people were executed by guillotine and another 25,000 executed across France. Many famous guillotines occurred including: King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Anyone that appeared to be inciting political resistance or threatened the French government could be immediately executed. The Reign of Terror, although meant to stop political unrest only caused more and more resistance. 

Shift in Thought

 

The thought was rationally based. It was a "reactionary movement (against Rococo ideas), that sought to evoke and promote the great philosophical ideals of antiquity throughout the revival of classical forms." There was a new feeling of Associationalism, or a connection through personal and public emotion with the past. Classical ideals foster association propaganda weighed more over beauty and proportion. The new way of thinking and aesthetic added emotion to older aesthetics. 

Music

 

This period in music is known as the classical period. The music was characterized by a lighter, clearer texture than Baroque music and was much less complex. It is best known for the melody over chordal accompaniment, with frequent changes of mood, pace, and rhythm within in a single piece. Many famous composers came out of this classical period, most notably Mozart and Beethoven. 

STYLES MORGUE

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