GEORGES HEPPLEWHITE-NEOCLASSICISM DEFINITION-CHARACTERISTICS-BIOGRAPHY-STYLE OF WORK-EXAMPLES OF WORK- CONCLUSION

1. 1-Introduction
a-Definition of neoclassical
b-Characteristics of the period
2-Introduction of George Heppelwhite
a- Biography
b- Style of his work
c- Examples of his work
3-Conclusion

2. 1 – Introduction
What is Neoclassicism ?

3. Neoclassicism (from Greek νέος nèos, "new" and Latin classicus, "of the highest rank")
Or neoclassical is the name given to quite distinct movements in
the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw
upon Western classical art and culture (usually that of Ancient Greece or Ancient
Rome). These movements were dominant in northern Europe during the mid-18th to
the end of the 19th century.
The movement was inspired by the discovery of ancient Italian artifacts at the ruins of
Herculaneum (Town in Italy) and Pompeii ( a vast archaeological site in southern Italy)
ruins of Herculaneum, Italy. ruins of Pompeii Ruins of Pompeii with the Vesuvius

4. Movements:
• Painting: sharp colors with chiaroscuro
manifests the classical ideals
A 1787 oil on canvas painting by the French painter
Jacques-Louis David
A 1637–38 painting by Nicolas Poussin
• Literature: (late 17th and 18th century )
classical ideals of reasons
form and restraint
• Architecture and art : (18th and 19th century )
order, symmetry and simplicity of style
• Music: (18th century 1915 to 1940)
avoid subject emotionalism
return to the style of the pre-
Romantic composers

5. Architecture and art:
Derived from the architecture of classical antiquity, the Vitruvian principles and
the architecture of the architect Andre Palladio.
The style is manifested both in its details as a reaction against Rococo of
naturalistic ornament and in its architectural formulae as an outgrowth of some
classicizing features of late Baroque.
Characteristics:
• Grandeur of scale
• Symmetrical form
• Dramatic use of columns
• Triangular pediment
• Domed roof
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, at Berlin,
Germany, 1823 to 1830

6. 2-Introduction of George Heppelwhite
A- Georges Hepplwhite (1727-1786), born in Rhyton, country
Durham, England , was apprenticed to the English furniture
maker Robert Gillow of Lancaster, went to London, and opened
a shop there on Redcross Street. Noted on a chair design that
had been “executed with good effect for the Prince of Wales”.
After his death his estate was administered by his widow, Alice,
who carried on the business.
Hepplewhite’s style and reputation rest on his Cabinet-Maker
and Upholstere’s Guide (1788), which contained nearly 300
designs for furniture and other furnishings
B-Furniture characteristics:
Hepplewhite is most associated with pierced and shield-back
chairs often with wheels, lyres, or Prince of Wales feathers,
and painted or japanned work of gold on black.

7. C-Examples of Georges Hepplewhite’s furniture

8. “Shield-Back” Chair
the shield-back
chair and bears
the label of
John Shaw,
Annapolis,
typical
chair with
heart-
shaped
back
chair with
shield-
shaped back
Prince of
Wales
feathers
in the
oval back.
rounded
fronts

10. Characteristics:
• Sophisticated and streamlined style.
• Displays an expansive shield for the back.
• The seats have rounded fronts.
• Chair backs are shaped like ovals, Hooped
Back, heart-backs or shields.
• Light furniture compared to earlier Queen
Anne and Chippendale styles.
• Slender and more curvilinear in shape
• Tapered, square legs and feet with a
rectangular spade foot or tapered arrow foot.
• Substantial carvings decorated the distinctive
shield-back design
• Intricate inlays of patterns and contrasting
colors of veneers of various woods.
• Common motifs include swags, ribbons,
feathers, urns and trees.
• Mahogany was the typical base of the chair,
yet satinwood and maple were also very
popular (local wood).

11. 3-Conclusion:
• Being in the neoclassical period and Inspired by the period’s
architecture style that emphasized its planar qualities rather
than the sculptural volumes, and went back to the classical
flatter simpler shapes, George Hepplwhite expressed the
simplicity, the elegance, and the well defined lines in his
furniture.