Neoclassicism

新古典主義 / 1760s–1830s / Style / Historical Styles

A movement that turned back to ancient simplicity, prompted by the excavations at Pompeii and reacting against the decorative excess of Rococo. Contours are hard, color is held down, and the subjects preach civic virtue. States of the revolutionary period chose this style as their own face.

Neoclassicism — Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Neoclassicism — Antonio Canova, Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, 1793, marble — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Antonio Canova, Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, 1793, marble — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Neoclassicism — La Madeleine, Paris, begun 1807, front elevation — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 · © Simdaperce — La Madeleine, Paris, begun 1807, front elevation — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · © Simdaperce

At a glance

Visual cues

Hard, clear contour lines
A restrained number of colors
Ancient subjects and dress
Shallow, stage like space

Best used for

Showing public purpose and discipline by cutting ornament away
Making a scene that borrows historical legitimacy

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Dictionary entry

Type: Inscriptional capitals, letterspaced wide.
Composition: Let the horizontal work hard and place elements symmetrically.
Material: The white of stone and plaster, with gold kept to key points.
Caution: Do not mistake simplicity for dullness. Hard contour and tense composition are both required at once.
Further study: The excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii / Winckelmann's history of ancient art / Its adoption as a state style in revolutionary France

Related entries

Renaissance (ルネサンス)Same Historical Styles lineage.Compare Neoclassicism and Renaissance
Stripped Classicism (ストリップト・クラシシズム)Shared effects: Trust / Luxury / Calm.Compare Neoclassicism and Stripped Classicism

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