{"id":334,"date":"2020-05-28T02:47:43","date_gmt":"2020-05-28T02:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-hum140\/?post_type=chapter&p=334"},"modified":"2025-11-06T18:44:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T18:44:24","slug":"3-9-art-in-the-enlightenment-the-baroque-and-rococo","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-hum140\/chapter\/3-9-art-in-the-enlightenment-the-baroque-and-rococo\/","title":{"raw":"3.7: Art in the Enlightenment: (Baroque) Rococo and Neoclassicism","rendered":"3.7: Art in the Enlightenment: (Baroque) Rococo and Neoclassicism"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n
\r\n

The Baroque Period: The Seed of Enlightenment Art<\/h2>\r\nThe Baroque is a period of artistic style that started around 1600 in Rome, Italy, and spread throughout the majority of Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. In informal usage, the word\u00a0baroque<\/em>\u00a0describes something that is elaborate and highly detailed.\r\n\r\nThe most important factors during the Baroque era were the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, with the development of the Baroque style considered to be linked closely with the Catholic Church. The popularity of the style was in fact encouraged by the Catholic Church, which had decided at the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes and direct emotional involvement in response to the Protestant Reformation. Baroque art manifested itself differently in various European countries owing to their unique political and cultural climates.\r\n

Characteristics<\/h3>\r\nThe Baroque style is characterized by exaggerated motion and clear detail used to produce drama, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, and music. Baroque iconography was direct, obvious, and dramatic, intending to appeal above all to the senses and the emotions.\r\n\r\nThe use of the chiaroscuro technique is a well known trait of Baroque art. This technique refers to the interplay between light and dark and is often used in paintings of dimly lit scenes to produce a very high-contrast, dramatic atmosphere. The chiaroscuro technique is visible in the painting\u00a0The Massacre of the Innocents<\/em>\u00a0by Peter Paul Rubens. Other important Baroque painters include Caravaggio (who is thought to be a precursor to the movement and is known for work characterized by close-up action and strong diagonals) and Rembrandt.\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"image\"\r\n

The Massacre of the Innocents\u00a0<\/em>by Peter Paul Rubens<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

The Beginnings of Rococo<\/h2>\r\nIn the early years of the 1700s, at the end of the reign of Louis XIV (who dies in 1715), there was a shift away from the classicism and \u201cGrand Manner\u201d (based on the art of Poussin) that had governed the art of the preceding 50 years, toward a new style that we call Rococo. Versailles was abandoned by the aristocracy, who once again took up residence in Paris. A shift away from the monarchy, toward the aristocracy characterizes this period.\r\n\r\nWhat kind of lifestyle did the aristocracy lead during this period? Remember that the aristocracy had enormous political power as well as enormous wealth. Many chose leisure as a pursuit and became involved themselves in romantic intrigues. Indeed, they created a culture of luxury and excess that formed a stark contrast to the lives of most people in France. The aristocracy, only a small percentage of the population of France, owned over 90% of its wealth. A small, but growing middle class does not sit still with this for long (remember the French Revolution of 1789).\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"Jean-Honor\u00e9<\/a>\r\n

Jean-Honor\u00e9 Fragonard, The Swing, oil on canvas, 1767 (Wallace Collection, London)<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Fragonard\u2019s\u00a0The Swing<\/i><\/h2>\r\nAs with most Rococo paintings, the subject of\u00a0Fragonard\u2019s\u00a0The Swing<\/i>\u00a0is not very complicated! Two lovers have conspired to get this older fellow to push the young lady in the swing while her lover hides in the bushes. Their idea is that as she goes up in the swing, she can part her legs, and he can get a perfect view up her skirt.\r\n\r\nThey are surrounded by a lush, overgrown garden. A sculptured figure to the left puts his fingers to his mouth, as though saying \u201chush,\u201d while another sculpture in the background has two cupid figures cuddled together. The colors are pastel \u2014 pale pinks and greens, and although we have a sense of movement and a prominent diagonal line \u2014 the painting lacks all of the seriousness of a baroque painting.\r\n\r\nIf you look really closely you can see the loose brushstrokes in the pink silk dress, and as she opens her legs, we get a glimpse of her garter belt. It was precisely this kind of painting that the philosophers of the Enlightenment were soon to condemn. They demanded a new style of art, one that showed an example of moral behavior, of human beings at their most noble.\r\n

Rococo Architecture<\/h2>\r\nIn the Baroque style of architecture, emphasis was placed on bold spaces, domes, and large masses, as exemplified by the Queluz National Palace in Portugal. In the later part of the period, the Baroque style was termed\u00a0Rococo<\/em>, a style characterized by increasingly decorative and elaborate works.\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"430\"]\"Palace Queluz National Palace, Portugal[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nRococo architecture was a lighter, more graceful, yet also more elaborate version of Baroque architecture, which was ornate and austere. While the styles were similar, there are some notable differences between both Rococo and Baroque architecture, such as symmetry; Rococo emphasized the asymmetry of forms, while Baroque was the opposite. The styles, despite both being richly decorated, also had different themes; the Baroque was more serious, placing an emphasis on religion, and was often characterized by Christian themes (the Baroque began in Rome as a response to the Protestant Reformation); Rococo architecture was an 18th century, more secular, adaptation of the Baroque that was characterized by more light-hearted and jocular themes. Other elements belonging to the architectural style of Rococo include numerous curves and decorations, as well as the use of pale colors.\r\n\r\nThere are numerous examples of Rococo buildings as well as architects. Among the most famous include the Catherine Palace in Russia, the Queluz National Palace in Portugal, the Augustusburg and Falkenlust Palaces in Br\u00fchl, the Chinese House in Potsdam, the Charlottenburg Palace in Germany, as well as elements of the Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles in France. Architects who were renowned for their constructions using the style include Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, an Italian architect who worked in Russia and who was noted for his lavish and opulent works, Philip de Lange, who worked in both Danish and Dutch Rococo architecture, or Matth\u00e4us Daniel P\u00f6ppelmann, who worked in the late Baroque style and who contributed to the reconstruction of the city of Dresden in Germany.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nRococo architecture also brought significant changes to the building of edifices, placing an emphasis on privacy rather than the grand public majesty of Baroque architecture, as well as improving the structure of buildings in order to create a more healthy environment.\r\n\r\nIn 1733, Empress Elizabeth\u00a0commissioned Mikhail Zemtsov\u00a0and Andrei Kvasov\u00a0to expand the Catherine Palace. Empress Elizabeth, however, found her mother\u2019s residence outdated and incommodious and in May 1752 asked her court architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli\u00a0to demolish the old structure and replace it with a much grander edifice in a flamboyant Rococo\u00a0style. Construction lasted for four years, and on July 30, 1756 the architect presented the brand-new 325-meter-long palace to the Empress, her dazed courtiers, and stupefied foreign ambassadors.\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"585\"]\"\" Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, Saint Petersburg: The residence originated in 1717, when Catherine I of Russia hired German architect Johann-Friedrich Braunstein to construct a summer palace for her pleasure.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Neoclassicism<\/h2>\r\nThe classical revival, also known as Neoclassicism, refers to movements in the arts that draw inspiration from the \u201cclassical\u201d art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. The height of Neoclassicism coincided with the 18th century Enlightenment era, and continued into the early 19th century. However, the dominant styles during the 18th century were Baroque and Rococo. The latter, with its emphasis on asymmetry, bright colors, and ornamentation is typically considered to be the direct opposite of the Neoclassical style, which is based on order, symmetry, and simplicity. With the increasing popularity of the Grand Tour, it became fashionable to collect antiquities as souvenirs. This tradition of collecting laid the foundations for many great art collections and spread the classical revival throughout Europe and America.<\/span>\r\n
\r\n\r\nNeoclassicism grew to encompass all of the arts, including painting, sculpture, the decorative arts, theatre, literature, music, and architecture. The style can generally be identified by its use of straight lines, minimal use of color, simplicity of form and, of course, its adherence to classical values and techniques.\r\n\r\nIn music, the period saw the rise of classical music and in painting, the works of Jaques-Louis David became synonymous with the classical revival. However, Neoclassicism was felt most strongly in architecture, sculpture, and the decorative arts, where classical models in the same medium were fairly numerous and accessible. Sculpture in particular had a great wealth of ancient models from which to learn; however, most were Roman copies of Greek originals.\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"194\"]\"The Rinaldo Rinaldi, Chirone Insegna Ad Achille a Suonare La Cetra: Executed in a classical style and adhering to classical themes, this sculpture is a typical example of the Neoclassical style.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nNeoclassical architecture was modeled after the classical style and, as with other art forms, was in many ways a reaction against the exuberant Rococo style. The architecture of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio became very popular in the mid 18th century. Additionally, archaeological ruins found in Pompeii and Herculaneum informed many of the stylistic values of Neoclassical interior design based on the ancient Roman rediscoveries.\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"image\"\r\n

Villa Godi Valmarana, Lonedo di Lugo, Veneto, Italy<\/strong>: Villa Godi was one of the first works by Palladio. Its austere facade, arched doorways and minimal symmetry reflect his adherence to classical stylistic values.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n

Neoclassical Paintings<\/h2>\r\nNeoclassical painting, produced by men and women, drew its inspiration from the classical art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome.\r\n
\r\n

The School of David<\/h3>\r\nNeoclassical painting gained new momentum with the great success of David\u2019s\u00a0Oath of the Horatii\u00a0<\/em>at the Paris Salon of 1785. The painting had been commissioned by the royal government and was created in a style that was the perfect combination of idealized structure and dramatic effect. The painting created an uproar, and David was proclaimed to have perfectly defined the Neoclassical taste in his painting style. He thereby became the quintessential painter of the movement. In\u00a0The Oath of the Horatii<\/em>, the perspective is perpendicular to the picture plane. It is defined by a dark arcade behind several classical heroic figures. There is an element of theatre, or staging, that evokes the grandeur of opera. David soon became the leading French painter and enjoyed a great deal of government patronage. Over the course of his long career, he attracted over 300 students to his studio.\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"Three\r\n

Jacques-Louis David.\u00a0The Oath of the Horatii\u00a0<\/em>(1784)<\/strong>: Oil on canvas. Mus\u00e9e du Louvre, Paris.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nJean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, a Neoclassical painter of history and portraiture, was one of David\u2019s students. Deeply devoted to classical techniques, Ingres is known to have believed himself to be a conservator of the style of the ancient masters, although he later painted subjects in the Romantic style. Examples of his Neoclassical work include the paintings\u00a0Virgil Reading to Augustus<\/em>\u00a0(1812), and\u00a0Oedipus and the\u00a0<\/em>Sphinx<\/em>\u00a0(1864). Both David and Ingres made use of the highly organized imagery, straight lines, and clearly defined forms that were typical of Neoclassical painting during the 18th century.\r\n

\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"Virgil\r\n

Virgil Reading to Augustus\u00a0<\/em>by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1812)<\/strong>: Oil on canvas. The Walters Art Museum.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nWhile tradition and the rules governing the Acad\u00e9mie Fran\u00e7aise\u00a0barred women from studying from the nude model (a necessity for executing an effective Neoclassical painting), David believed that women were capable of producing successful art of the style and welcomed many as his students. Among the most successful were Marie-Guillemine Benoist, who eventually won commissions from the Bonaparte family, and Ang\u00e9lique Mongez, who won patrons from as far away as Russia.\r\n

\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"image\"\r\n

Self-Portrait\u00a0<\/em>by Marie-Guillemine Benoist (1788)<\/strong>: In this untraced oil on canvas, Benoist (then Leroulx de la Ville) paints a section from David\u2019s acclaimed Neoclassical painting of Justinian\u2019s blinded general Belisarius begging for alms. Her return of the viewer\u2019s gaze and classical attire show her confidence as an artist and conformity to artistic trends.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nMongez is best known for being one of the few women to paint monumental subjects that often included the male nude, a feat for which hostile critics often attacked her.\r\n

\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"Theseus\r\n

Theseus and Piritho\u00fcs Clearing the Earth of Brigands, Deliver Two Women from the Hands of Their Abductors<\/em>\u00a0by Ang\u00e9lique Mongez (1806)<\/strong>: Oil on canvas. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nMongez and Antoine-Jean Gros, another of David\u2019s students, tried to carry on the Neoclassical tradition after David\u2019s death in 1825 but were unsuccessful in face of the growing popularity of Romanticism.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n

Neoclassical Sculpture<\/h2>\r\nA reaction against the \u201cfrivolity\u201d of the Rococo, Neoclassical sculpture depicts serious subjects influenced by the ancient Greek and Roman past.\r\n
\r\n\r\nAs with painting, Neoclassicism made its way into sculpture in the second half of the 18th century. In addition to the ideals of the Enlightenment, the excavations of the ruins at Pompeii began to spark a renewed interest in classical culture. Whereas Rococo sculpture consisted of small-scale asymmetrical objects focusing on themes of love and gaiety, neoclassical sculpture assumed life-size to monumental scale and focused on themes of heroism, patriotism, and virtue.\r\n\r\nIn his tomb sculpture, the Enlightenment\u00a0philosophe\u00a0<\/em>Voltaire is honored in true Neoclassical form. In a style influenced by ancient Roman verism, he appears as an elderly man to honor his wisdom. He wears a contemporary commoner\u2019s blouse to convey his humbleness, and his robe assumes the appearance of an ancient Roman toga from a distance. Like his ancient predecessors, his facial expression and his body language suggest an air of scholarly seriousness.\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"image\"\r\n

Voltaire\u2019s tomb.<\/strong>: Panth\u00e9on, Paris.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nNeoclassical sculptors benefited from an abundance of ancient models, albeit Roman copies of Greek bronzes in most cases. The leading Neoclassical sculptors enjoyed much acclaim during their lifetimes. One of them was Jean-Antoine Houdon, whose work was mainly portraits, very often as busts, which do not sacrifice a strong impression of the sitter\u2019s personality to idealism. His style became more classical as his long career continued, and represents a rather smooth progression from Rococo charm to classical dignity. Unlike some Neoclassical sculptors he did not insist on his sitters wearing Roman dress, or being unclothed. He portrayed most of the great figures of the Enlightenment, and traveled to America to produce a statue of George Washington, as well as busts of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and other luminaries of the new republic. His portrait bust of Washington depicts the first President of the United States as a stern, yet competent leader, with the influence of Roman verism evident in his wrinkled forehead, receding hairline, and double chin.\r\n

\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"image\"Bust of George Washington\u00a0<\/em>by Jean-Antoine Houdon (c. 1786), National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe Italian artist Antonio Canova and the Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen were both based in Rome, and as well as portraits produced many ambitious life-size figures and groups. Both represented the strongly idealizing tendency in Neoclassical sculpture.\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"image\"\r\n

Hebe\u00a0<\/em>by Antonio Canova \u00a0(1800\u201305).<\/strong>: Hermitage State Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nCanova has a lightness and grace, where Thorvaldsen is more severe. The difference is exemplified in Canova\u2019s\u00a0Hebe<\/em>\u00a0(1800\u201305), whose contrapposto almost mimics lively dance steps as she prepares to pour nectar and ambrosia from a small amphora into a chalice, and Thorvaldsen\u2019s\u00a0Monument to Copernicus<\/em>\u00a0(1822-30), whose subject sits upright with a compass and armillary sphere.\r\n

\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"image\"\r\n

Monument to Copernicus\u00a0<\/em>by Bertel Thorvaldsen\u00a0(1822\u201330).<\/strong>: Bronze. Warsaw, Poland.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n

Neoclassical Architecture<\/h2>\r\nNeoclassical architecture, which began in the mid-18th century, looks to the classical past of the Graeco-Roman era, the Renaissance, and classicized Baroque to convey a new era based on Enlightenment principles. This movement manifested in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing features of Late Baroque. In its purest form, Neoclassicism is a style principally derived from the architecture of Classical Greece and Rome. In form, Neoclassical architecture emphasizes the wall and maintains separate identities to each of its parts.\r\n\r\nThe first phase of Neoclassicism in France is expressed in the Louis XVI style of architects like Ange-Jacques Gabriel (Petit Trianon, 1762\u201368). Ange-Jacques Gabriel was the Premier Architecte at Versailles, and his Neoclassical designs for the royal palace dominated mid 18th century French architecture.\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"image\"\r\n

Ange-Jacques Gabriel. Ch\u00e2teau of the Petit Trianon.<\/strong>: The Petit Trianon in the park at Versailles demonstrates the neoclassical architectural style under Louis XVI.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nAfter the French Revolution, the second phase of Neoclassicism was expressed in the late 18th century Directoire<\/em> style. The Directoire<\/em> style reflected the Revolutionary belief in the values of republican Rome. This style was a period in the decorative arts, fashion, and especially furniture design, concurrent with the post-Revolution French Directoire<\/em> (November 2, 1795\u2013November 10, 1799). The style uses Neoclassical architectural forms, minimal carving, planar expanses of highly grained veneers, and applied decorative painting. The Directoire<\/em> style was primarily established by the architects and designers Charles Percier (1764\u20131838) and Pierre-Fran\u00e7ois-L\u00e9onard Fontaine (1762\u20131853), who collaborated on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which is considered emblematic of French neoclassical architecture.\r\n

\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"Photo\r\n

Arc de Triomphe<\/strong>: The Arc de Triomphe, although finished in the early 19th century, is emblematic of French neoclassical architecture that dominated the Directoire period.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nThough Neoclassical architecture employs the same classical vocabulary as Late Baroque architecture, it tends to emphasize its planar qualities rather than its sculptural volumes. Projections, recessions, and their effects on light and shade are more flat. Sculptural bas-reliefs are flatter and tend to be framed in friezes, tablets, or panels. Its clearly articulated individual features are isolated rather than interpenetrating, autonomous, and complete in themselves.\r\n\r\nEven sacred architecture was classicized during the Neoclassical period. The Panth\u00e9on, located in the Latin Quarter of Paris, was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevi\u00e8ve and to house the reliquary ch\u00e2sse containing her relics. However, during the French Revolution, the Panth\u00e9on was secularized and became the resting place of Enlightenment icons such as Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Designer Jacques-Germain Soufflot had the intention of combining the lightness and brightness of the Gothic cathedral with classical principles, but its role as a mausoleum required the great Gothic windows to be blocked. In 1780, Soufflot died and was replaced by his student, Jean-Baptiste Rondelet.\r\n

\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"image\"\r\n

Jacques-Germain Soufflot (original architect) and Jean-Baptiste Rondelet. The Panth\u00e9on.<\/strong>: Begun 1758, completed 1790.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nSimilar to a Roman temple, the Panth\u00e9on is entered through a portico that consists of three rows of columns (in this case, Corinthian) topped by a Classical pediment. In a fashion more closely related to ancient Greece, the pediment is adorned with reliefs throughout the triangular space. Beneath the pediment, the inscription on the entablature translates as: \u201cTo the great men, the grateful homeland.\u201d The dome, on the other hand, is more influenced by Renaissance and Baroque predecessors, such as St. Peter\u2019s in Rome and St. Paul\u2019s in London.\r\n\r\nIntellectually, Neoclassicism was symptomatic of a desire to return to the perceived \u201cpurity\u201d of the arts of Rome. The movement was also inspired by a more vague perception (\u201cideal\u201d) of Ancient Greek arts and, to a lesser extent, 16th century Renaissance Classicism, which was also a source for academic Late Baroque architecture. There is an anti-Rococo strain that can be detected in some European architecture of the earlier 18th century. This strain is most vividly represented in the Palladian architecture of Georgian Britain and Ireland.\r\n

\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"image\"\r\n

Lord Burlington. Chiswick House<\/strong>: The design of Chiswick House in West London was influenced by that of Palladio\u2019s domestic architecture, particularly the Villa Rotunda in Venice. The stepped dome and temple fa\u00e7ade were clearly influenced by the Roman Pantheon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe trend toward the classical is also recognizable in the classicizing vein of Late Baroque architecture in Paris. It is a robust architecture of self-restraint, academically selective now of \u201cthe best\u201d Roman models. These models were increasingly available for close study through the medium of architectural engravings of measured drawings of surviving Roman architecture.\r\n\r\nFrench Neoclassicism continued to be a major force in academic art through the 19th century and beyond\u2014a constant antithesis to Romanticism or Gothic revivals.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

\n
\n

The Baroque Period: The Seed of Enlightenment Art<\/h2>\n

The Baroque is a period of artistic style that started around 1600 in Rome, Italy, and spread throughout the majority of Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. In informal usage, the word\u00a0baroque<\/em>\u00a0describes something that is elaborate and highly detailed.<\/p>\n

The most important factors during the Baroque era were the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, with the development of the Baroque style considered to be linked closely with the Catholic Church. The popularity of the style was in fact encouraged by the Catholic Church, which had decided at the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes and direct emotional involvement in response to the Protestant Reformation. Baroque art manifested itself differently in various European countries owing to their unique political and cultural climates.<\/p>\n

Characteristics<\/h3>\n

The Baroque style is characterized by exaggerated motion and clear detail used to produce drama, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, and music. Baroque iconography was direct, obvious, and dramatic, intending to appeal above all to the senses and the emotions.<\/p>\n

The use of the chiaroscuro technique is a well known trait of Baroque art. This technique refers to the interplay between light and dark and is often used in paintings of dimly lit scenes to produce a very high-contrast, dramatic atmosphere. The chiaroscuro technique is visible in the painting\u00a0The Massacre of the Innocents<\/em>\u00a0by Peter Paul Rubens. Other important Baroque painters include Caravaggio (who is thought to be a precursor to the movement and is known for work characterized by close-up action and strong diagonals) and Rembrandt.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

The Massacre of the Innocents\u00a0<\/em>by Peter Paul Rubens<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Beginnings of Rococo<\/h2>\n

In the early years of the 1700s, at the end of the reign of Louis XIV (who dies in 1715), there was a shift away from the classicism and \u201cGrand Manner\u201d (based on the art of Poussin) that had governed the art of the preceding 50 years, toward a new style that we call Rococo. Versailles was abandoned by the aristocracy, who once again took up residence in Paris. A shift away from the monarchy, toward the aristocracy characterizes this period.<\/p>\n

What kind of lifestyle did the aristocracy lead during this period? Remember that the aristocracy had enormous political power as well as enormous wealth. Many chose leisure as a pursuit and became involved themselves in romantic intrigues. Indeed, they created a culture of luxury and excess that formed a stark contrast to the lives of most people in France. The aristocracy, only a small percentage of the population of France, owned over 90% of its wealth. A small, but growing middle class does not sit still with this for long (remember the French Revolution of 1789).<\/p>\n

\n

\"Jean-Honor\u00e9<\/a><\/p>\n

Jean-Honor\u00e9 Fragonard, The Swing, oil on canvas, 1767 (Wallace Collection, London)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Fragonard\u2019s\u00a0The Swing<\/i><\/h2>\n

As with most Rococo paintings, the subject of\u00a0Fragonard\u2019s\u00a0The Swing<\/i>\u00a0is not very complicated! Two lovers have conspired to get this older fellow to push the young lady in the swing while her lover hides in the bushes. Their idea is that as she goes up in the swing, she can part her legs, and he can get a perfect view up her skirt.<\/p>\n

They are surrounded by a lush, overgrown garden. A sculptured figure to the left puts his fingers to his mouth, as though saying \u201chush,\u201d while another sculpture in the background has two cupid figures cuddled together. The colors are pastel \u2014 pale pinks and greens, and although we have a sense of movement and a prominent diagonal line \u2014 the painting lacks all of the seriousness of a baroque painting.<\/p>\n

If you look really closely you can see the loose brushstrokes in the pink silk dress, and as she opens her legs, we get a glimpse of her garter belt. It was precisely this kind of painting that the philosophers of the Enlightenment were soon to condemn. They demanded a new style of art, one that showed an example of moral behavior, of human beings at their most noble.<\/p>\n

Rococo Architecture<\/h2>\n

In the Baroque style of architecture, emphasis was placed on bold spaces, domes, and large masses, as exemplified by the Queluz National Palace in Portugal. In the later part of the period, the Baroque style was termed\u00a0Rococo<\/em>, a style characterized by increasingly decorative and elaborate works.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Palace<\/p>\n

Queluz National Palace, Portugal<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Rococo architecture was a lighter, more graceful, yet also more elaborate version of Baroque architecture, which was ornate and austere. While the styles were similar, there are some notable differences between both Rococo and Baroque architecture, such as symmetry; Rococo emphasized the asymmetry of forms, while Baroque was the opposite. The styles, despite both being richly decorated, also had different themes; the Baroque was more serious, placing an emphasis on religion, and was often characterized by Christian themes (the Baroque began in Rome as a response to the Protestant Reformation); Rococo architecture was an 18th century, more secular, adaptation of the Baroque that was characterized by more light-hearted and jocular themes. Other elements belonging to the architectural style of Rococo include numerous curves and decorations, as well as the use of pale colors.<\/p>\n

There are numerous examples of Rococo buildings as well as architects. Among the most famous include the Catherine Palace in Russia, the Queluz National Palace in Portugal, the Augustusburg and Falkenlust Palaces in Br\u00fchl, the Chinese House in Potsdam, the Charlottenburg Palace in Germany, as well as elements of the Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles in France. Architects who were renowned for their constructions using the style include Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, an Italian architect who worked in Russia and who was noted for his lavish and opulent works, Philip de Lange, who worked in both Danish and Dutch Rococo architecture, or Matth\u00e4us Daniel P\u00f6ppelmann, who worked in the late Baroque style and who contributed to the reconstruction of the city of Dresden in Germany.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Rococo architecture also brought significant changes to the building of edifices, placing an emphasis on privacy rather than the grand public majesty of Baroque architecture, as well as improving the structure of buildings in order to create a more healthy environment.<\/p>\n

In 1733, Empress Elizabeth\u00a0commissioned Mikhail Zemtsov\u00a0and Andrei Kvasov\u00a0to expand the Catherine Palace. Empress Elizabeth, however, found her mother\u2019s residence outdated and incommodious and in May 1752 asked her court architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli\u00a0to demolish the old structure and replace it with a much grander edifice in a flamboyant Rococo\u00a0style. Construction lasted for four years, and on July 30, 1756 the architect presented the brand-new 325-meter-long palace to the Empress, her dazed courtiers, and stupefied foreign ambassadors.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/p>\n

Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, Saint Petersburg: The residence originated in 1717, when Catherine I of Russia hired German architect Johann-Friedrich Braunstein to construct a summer palace for her pleasure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Neoclassicism<\/h2>\n

The classical revival, also known as Neoclassicism, refers to movements in the arts that draw inspiration from the \u201cclassical\u201d art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. The height of Neoclassicism coincided with the 18th century Enlightenment era, and continued into the early 19th century. However, the dominant styles during the 18th century were Baroque and Rococo. The latter, with its emphasis on asymmetry, bright colors, and ornamentation is typically considered to be the direct opposite of the Neoclassical style, which is based on order, symmetry, and simplicity. With the increasing popularity of the Grand Tour, it became fashionable to collect antiquities as souvenirs. This tradition of collecting laid the foundations for many great art collections and spread the classical revival throughout Europe and America.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Neoclassicism grew to encompass all of the arts, including painting, sculpture, the decorative arts, theatre, literature, music, and architecture. The style can generally be identified by its use of straight lines, minimal use of color, simplicity of form and, of course, its adherence to classical values and techniques.<\/p>\n

In music, the period saw the rise of classical music and in painting, the works of Jaques-Louis David became synonymous with the classical revival. However, Neoclassicism was felt most strongly in architecture, sculpture, and the decorative arts, where classical models in the same medium were fairly numerous and accessible. Sculpture in particular had a great wealth of ancient models from which to learn; however, most were Roman copies of Greek originals.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"The<\/p>\n

Rinaldo Rinaldi, Chirone Insegna Ad Achille a Suonare La Cetra: Executed in a classical style and adhering to classical themes, this sculpture is a typical example of the Neoclassical style.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Neoclassical architecture was modeled after the classical style and, as with other art forms, was in many ways a reaction against the exuberant Rococo style. The architecture of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio became very popular in the mid 18th century. Additionally, archaeological ruins found in Pompeii and Herculaneum informed many of the stylistic values of Neoclassical interior design based on the ancient Roman rediscoveries.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

Villa Godi Valmarana, Lonedo di Lugo, Veneto, Italy<\/strong>: Villa Godi was one of the first works by Palladio. Its austere facade, arched doorways and minimal symmetry reflect his adherence to classical stylistic values.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Neoclassical Paintings<\/h2>\n

Neoclassical painting, produced by men and women, drew its inspiration from the classical art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome.<\/p>\n

\n

The School of David<\/h3>\n

Neoclassical painting gained new momentum with the great success of David\u2019s\u00a0Oath of the Horatii\u00a0<\/em>at the Paris Salon of 1785. The painting had been commissioned by the royal government and was created in a style that was the perfect combination of idealized structure and dramatic effect. The painting created an uproar, and David was proclaimed to have perfectly defined the Neoclassical taste in his painting style. He thereby became the quintessential painter of the movement. In\u00a0The Oath of the Horatii<\/em>, the perspective is perpendicular to the picture plane. It is defined by a dark arcade behind several classical heroic figures. There is an element of theatre, or staging, that evokes the grandeur of opera. David soon became the leading French painter and enjoyed a great deal of government patronage. Over the course of his long career, he attracted over 300 students to his studio.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

Jacques-Louis David.\u00a0The Oath of the Horatii\u00a0<\/em>(1784)<\/strong>: Oil on canvas. Mus\u00e9e du Louvre, Paris.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, a Neoclassical painter of history and portraiture, was one of David\u2019s students. Deeply devoted to classical techniques, Ingres is known to have believed himself to be a conservator of the style of the ancient masters, although he later painted subjects in the Romantic style. Examples of his Neoclassical work include the paintings\u00a0Virgil Reading to Augustus<\/em>\u00a0(1812), and\u00a0Oedipus and the\u00a0<\/em>Sphinx<\/em>\u00a0(1864). Both David and Ingres made use of the highly organized imagery, straight lines, and clearly defined forms that were typical of Neoclassical painting during the 18th century.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"Virgil<\/p>\n

Virgil Reading to Augustus\u00a0<\/em>by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1812)<\/strong>: Oil on canvas. The Walters Art Museum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

While tradition and the rules governing the Acad\u00e9mie Fran\u00e7aise\u00a0barred women from studying from the nude model (a necessity for executing an effective Neoclassical painting), David believed that women were capable of producing successful art of the style and welcomed many as his students. Among the most successful were Marie-Guillemine Benoist, who eventually won commissions from the Bonaparte family, and Ang\u00e9lique Mongez, who won patrons from as far away as Russia.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

Self-Portrait\u00a0<\/em>by Marie-Guillemine Benoist (1788)<\/strong>: In this untraced oil on canvas, Benoist (then Leroulx de la Ville) paints a section from David\u2019s acclaimed Neoclassical painting of Justinian\u2019s blinded general Belisarius begging for alms. Her return of the viewer\u2019s gaze and classical attire show her confidence as an artist and conformity to artistic trends.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Mongez is best known for being one of the few women to paint monumental subjects that often included the male nude, a feat for which hostile critics often attacked her.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"Theseus<\/p>\n

Theseus and Piritho\u00fcs Clearing the Earth of Brigands, Deliver Two Women from the Hands of Their Abductors<\/em>\u00a0by Ang\u00e9lique Mongez (1806)<\/strong>: Oil on canvas. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Mongez and Antoine-Jean Gros, another of David\u2019s students, tried to carry on the Neoclassical tradition after David\u2019s death in 1825 but were unsuccessful in face of the growing popularity of Romanticism.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Neoclassical Sculpture<\/h2>\n

A reaction against the \u201cfrivolity\u201d of the Rococo, Neoclassical sculpture depicts serious subjects influenced by the ancient Greek and Roman past.<\/p>\n

\n

As with painting, Neoclassicism made its way into sculpture in the second half of the 18th century. In addition to the ideals of the Enlightenment, the excavations of the ruins at Pompeii began to spark a renewed interest in classical culture. Whereas Rococo sculpture consisted of small-scale asymmetrical objects focusing on themes of love and gaiety, neoclassical sculpture assumed life-size to monumental scale and focused on themes of heroism, patriotism, and virtue.<\/p>\n

In his tomb sculpture, the Enlightenment\u00a0philosophe\u00a0<\/em>Voltaire is honored in true Neoclassical form. In a style influenced by ancient Roman verism, he appears as an elderly man to honor his wisdom. He wears a contemporary commoner\u2019s blouse to convey his humbleness, and his robe assumes the appearance of an ancient Roman toga from a distance. Like his ancient predecessors, his facial expression and his body language suggest an air of scholarly seriousness.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

Voltaire\u2019s tomb.<\/strong>: Panth\u00e9on, Paris.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Neoclassical sculptors benefited from an abundance of ancient models, albeit Roman copies of Greek bronzes in most cases. The leading Neoclassical sculptors enjoyed much acclaim during their lifetimes. One of them was Jean-Antoine Houdon, whose work was mainly portraits, very often as busts, which do not sacrifice a strong impression of the sitter\u2019s personality to idealism. His style became more classical as his long career continued, and represents a rather smooth progression from Rococo charm to classical dignity. Unlike some Neoclassical sculptors he did not insist on his sitters wearing Roman dress, or being unclothed. He portrayed most of the great figures of the Enlightenment, and traveled to America to produce a statue of George Washington, as well as busts of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and other luminaries of the new republic. His portrait bust of Washington depicts the first President of the United States as a stern, yet competent leader, with the influence of Roman verism evident in his wrinkled forehead, receding hairline, and double chin.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"image\"Bust of George Washington\u00a0<\/em>by Jean-Antoine Houdon (c. 1786), National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Italian artist Antonio Canova and the Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen were both based in Rome, and as well as portraits produced many ambitious life-size figures and groups. Both represented the strongly idealizing tendency in Neoclassical sculpture.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

Hebe\u00a0<\/em>by Antonio Canova \u00a0(1800\u201305).<\/strong>: Hermitage State Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Canova has a lightness and grace, where Thorvaldsen is more severe. The difference is exemplified in Canova\u2019s\u00a0Hebe<\/em>\u00a0(1800\u201305), whose contrapposto almost mimics lively dance steps as she prepares to pour nectar and ambrosia from a small amphora into a chalice, and Thorvaldsen\u2019s\u00a0Monument to Copernicus<\/em>\u00a0(1822-30), whose subject sits upright with a compass and armillary sphere.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

Monument to Copernicus\u00a0<\/em>by Bertel Thorvaldsen\u00a0(1822\u201330).<\/strong>: Bronze. Warsaw, Poland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Neoclassical Architecture<\/h2>\n

Neoclassical architecture, which began in the mid-18th century, looks to the classical past of the Graeco-Roman era, the Renaissance, and classicized Baroque to convey a new era based on Enlightenment principles. This movement manifested in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing features of Late Baroque. In its purest form, Neoclassicism is a style principally derived from the architecture of Classical Greece and Rome. In form, Neoclassical architecture emphasizes the wall and maintains separate identities to each of its parts.<\/p>\n

The first phase of Neoclassicism in France is expressed in the Louis XVI style of architects like Ange-Jacques Gabriel (Petit Trianon, 1762\u201368). Ange-Jacques Gabriel was the Premier Architecte at Versailles, and his Neoclassical designs for the royal palace dominated mid 18th century French architecture.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

Ange-Jacques Gabriel. Ch\u00e2teau of the Petit Trianon.<\/strong>: The Petit Trianon in the park at Versailles demonstrates the neoclassical architectural style under Louis XVI.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

After the French Revolution, the second phase of Neoclassicism was expressed in the late 18th century Directoire<\/em> style. The Directoire<\/em> style reflected the Revolutionary belief in the values of republican Rome. This style was a period in the decorative arts, fashion, and especially furniture design, concurrent with the post-Revolution French Directoire<\/em> (November 2, 1795\u2013November 10, 1799). The style uses Neoclassical architectural forms, minimal carving, planar expanses of highly grained veneers, and applied decorative painting. The Directoire<\/em> style was primarily established by the architects and designers Charles Percier (1764\u20131838) and Pierre-Fran\u00e7ois-L\u00e9onard Fontaine (1762\u20131853), who collaborated on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which is considered emblematic of French neoclassical architecture.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n

Arc de Triomphe<\/strong>: The Arc de Triomphe, although finished in the early 19th century, is emblematic of French neoclassical architecture that dominated the Directoire period.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Though Neoclassical architecture employs the same classical vocabulary as Late Baroque architecture, it tends to emphasize its planar qualities rather than its sculptural volumes. Projections, recessions, and their effects on light and shade are more flat. Sculptural bas-reliefs are flatter and tend to be framed in friezes, tablets, or panels. Its clearly articulated individual features are isolated rather than interpenetrating, autonomous, and complete in themselves.<\/p>\n

Even sacred architecture was classicized during the Neoclassical period. The Panth\u00e9on, located in the Latin Quarter of Paris, was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevi\u00e8ve and to house the reliquary ch\u00e2sse containing her relics. However, during the French Revolution, the Panth\u00e9on was secularized and became the resting place of Enlightenment icons such as Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Designer Jacques-Germain Soufflot had the intention of combining the lightness and brightness of the Gothic cathedral with classical principles, but its role as a mausoleum required the great Gothic windows to be blocked. In 1780, Soufflot died and was replaced by his student, Jean-Baptiste Rondelet.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

Jacques-Germain Soufflot (original architect) and Jean-Baptiste Rondelet. The Panth\u00e9on.<\/strong>: Begun 1758, completed 1790.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Similar to a Roman temple, the Panth\u00e9on is entered through a portico that consists of three rows of columns (in this case, Corinthian) topped by a Classical pediment. In a fashion more closely related to ancient Greece, the pediment is adorned with reliefs throughout the triangular space. Beneath the pediment, the inscription on the entablature translates as: \u201cTo the great men, the grateful homeland.\u201d The dome, on the other hand, is more influenced by Renaissance and Baroque predecessors, such as St. Peter\u2019s in Rome and St. Paul\u2019s in London.<\/p>\n

Intellectually, Neoclassicism was symptomatic of a desire to return to the perceived \u201cpurity\u201d of the arts of Rome. The movement was also inspired by a more vague perception (\u201cideal\u201d) of Ancient Greek arts and, to a lesser extent, 16th century Renaissance Classicism, which was also a source for academic Late Baroque architecture. There is an anti-Rococo strain that can be detected in some European architecture of the earlier 18th century. This strain is most vividly represented in the Palladian architecture of Georgian Britain and Ireland.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

Lord Burlington. Chiswick House<\/strong>: The design of Chiswick House in West London was influenced by that of Palladio\u2019s domestic architecture, particularly the Villa Rotunda in Venice. The stepped dome and temple fa\u00e7ade were clearly influenced by the Roman Pantheon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The trend toward the classical is also recognizable in the classicizing vein of Late Baroque architecture in Paris. It is a robust architecture of self-restraint, academically selective now of \u201cthe best\u201d Roman models. These models were increasingly available for close study through the medium of architectural engravings of measured drawings of surviving Roman architecture.<\/p>\n

French Neoclassicism continued to be a major force in academic art through the 19th century and beyond\u2014a constant antithesis to Romanticism or Gothic revivals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t

Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Lumen Learning authored content<\/div>