Neoclassicism was an artistic movement between 1750-1850 that revived styles from antiquity inspired by Classical Greece and Rome. It featured a severe, unemotional style that was a reaction against Rococo and Baroque emotionalism. Notable Neoclassical artists include Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, and Nicolas Poussin. The movement emphasized line, contour, and simplicity over color and was inspired by Greek/Roman mythology, aesthetics, and artifacts. Neoclassicism dominated European and American art and architecture in the late 18th century.

1. Neo-classicism
(1750-1850)

2. Neo Classicism:
Map of Europe and America in the Age of Enlightenment

3. Neo Classicism:
• Neoclassicism is a revival of the styles and spirit of classic antiquity inspired directly
from the classical period.
• Neo-classical Art is a severe, unemotional form of art harkening back to the style of
ancient Greece and Rome.
• Its rigidity was a reaction to the overbred of Rococo style and the emotional
Baroque style. This art movement is often described as the opposed counterpart of
Romanticism.
• The rise of Neo-classical Art was part of a general revival of classical thought, which
was of some importance in the American and French revolutions.
• Painters applied sombre colours with occasional brilliant highlights, strengthened by
the strong light and dark tones. Here, quality of line and contour was a more
important consideration for the artists than colour, light and atmosphere.

4. Neo Classicism:
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Le
Grande Odalisque, 1814. Oil on
canvas, 36” x 64”. Louvre, Paris.
Jacques-Louis David, The Oath of
the Horatii , 1784. Oil on canvas
10’10” x 14’. Musée du Louvre, Paris
Nicolas Poussin, Holy Family on the
Steps, 1648. Oil on canvas,
28”x44.” Cleveland Museum o Art.

5. Neo Classicism:
Jean-Antoine Houdon, Voltaire Seated,
1781. Terracotta model for marble
original, 47.” Musée Voltaire.
After Leochares, Apollo Belvedere, c.
120-140. Copy of bronze original of ca.
350-325 BC. White marble, 88” high.
Vatican Museum, Vatican City.
Antonio Canova's Psyche
Revived by Love's Kiss

6. Neo Classicism:
Lord Burlington and William Kent,
Chiswick House, 1725. Chiswick,
London
Andrea Palladio, Villa Capra (La
Rotonda), 1566-1571, Vicenza,
Italy
Horace Walpole and William
Robinson, Strawberry Hill, 1749-1777.
Twickenham, England

7. Neo Classicism:
Giovanni Paolo Panini, Ancient Rome, 1757. Oil on canvas,
67 ¾" x 90 ½." Metropolitan Museum, NY.
• The Neoclassical style arose from
first-hand observation and
reproduction of antique works.
• Artists are inspired by Greek and
Roman mythology, aesthetics,
and style.
• Neo-Classicism is recognizable in
all media-the decorative arts,
literature, painting, sculpture,
theatre, architecture and music.
• It dominates Europe and America
in the second half of the 18th
century.