Neoclassicism and Romanticism

What was Rococo art for? What were some of its characteristics?

Rococo was an unserious rebellion against the Baroque

hold of absolutist monarchy relaxes and the elites indulge themselves

art for private salons of the elites

more playful, deliberately detached from politics

for pleasure

When does neoclassicism emerge?

second half of 18th century

What was the start of neoclassicism like?

outside the walls of private salons

economic growth

authority of church and monarchy is waning and being challenged

literacy spreading

printing presses

public wants to think, debate and understand the world themselves

• reason, rationality

• not through divine revelation or religious texts

When and what was the enlightenment?

18th century across Europe

emphasized reason, science, technology, inquiry, empirical observation

collecting data

empirical observation > inherited traditions

How did Isaac Newton contribute to the Enlightenment?

he practiced observation and experimentation

mathematical proofs

model for enlightenment thinking

applying these formulas and models to society and politics

Who was John Locke? What were his ideas?

philosopher

ideas that deeply influenced politics

natural rights (life, liberty, property)

proposed that governments exist to protect these right and not to accumulate wealth

• if governments don’t follow this, citizens have the right to revoke and rebel against

his ideas inspired different revolutions

Who were some of the french enlightenment thinkers?

Les Philosophes

e.g. Voltaire, Diderot, Montesquieu, etc.

What did Diderot write and what was its purpose?

Encyclopédie

he gathered all human knowledge from different disciplines (science, technology, art)

goal was not to inform but to empower the public to make knowledge accessible beyond elite circles

promoted reason as a tool for social progress

Popularize concepts, disciplines, areas of knowledge and make them readily available to the general public

What were the core values of the enlightenment?

education, empirical evidence, rational thought, critical inquiry, secular over religious thinking, belief in progress

What was the renewed interest in classical antiquity? How was it different from the revival in the Renaissance?

looked back to ancient Greece and Rome not just to admire beautiful work but to engage with political and ethical ideas

looked to Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Cicero

the art of governance

civic virtue, justice, citizenship

enlightenment thinkers looked at classical texts that discussed politics, civic virtue, government, etc.

• resonated with Locke’s ideas of democracy, good government, etc.

What did artists and people believe in terms of the role of art during this time of enlightenment? Why was Rococo rejected?

art should do more than just entertain and it should reflect reason, justice, laws, etc.

Diderot in particular turned against Rococo

• it is immoral because it only focused on pleasure and entertainment

• wanted art to be serious and morally instructive

• something with weight

Name and iconographic analysis

Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784. Oil on canvas.

represents an enlightenment turn

stand with arms outstretched

brothers swearing an oath to their father

• to defend Rome from an enemy state

• at the cost of their lives

serious, grave moment

women sit in sorrow

• they know that their family will be torn apart due to this conflict

• some of them are related to the enemy (Alalonga)

exercise of civic duty/heroic act

clear instructive political message

• how we the citizens ought to behave

• even in emotionally difficult situations

collective duty above private interests

reason over emotion

didactic

More on formal analysis

men are geometric and form sharp diagonals

• increased strength, rationality, rigidity

women are curved and postures are soft

• overcome by grief

  • reflected the gender norms of the time

draws on classical antiquity though story from ancient Rome

• roman legend about civic virtue and public sacrifice

figures are pushed to forefront since David was inspired by friezes

background is neutral and features arches for mapping humans like a grid

light is even

composition reflects the values of the enlightenment

• rationality, clarity, legible structure

• no more asymmetry

• balanced

clear narrative

no ambiguity

What was David attempting to do through this work?

attempting to educate through art

artists now have a mission to educate the public

he was inspired by Greek and Roman styles

How was Neoclassicism different from Renaissance?

• Renaissance was about new and innovation

• Now we were copying the Greeks and Romans and imitating

  • since they all worked on perfecting a singular thing

What was the French Revolution and David’s role?

began in 1789, ended in late 1790s

due to widespread anger over economic inequality, heavy taxes and absolute monarchy

enlightenment influence

ended absolutist monarchy

Jacobins organized people but they were very radical

as a result France became a republic government

David sided with the Jacobins and accepted the role of art propaganda

• believed that art could educate the public

post-revolution he displayed events from revolution

e.g. Death of Marat

When did Napoleon come to power?

comes to power in 1799 and crowned emperor in 1804

Jaques-Germain Soufflot, Pantheon (Sainte-Geneviève; interior), Paris, France, 1755-1792.

corinthian columns

friezes

• some with latin scripture

stylobate

symmetrical composition

dome

central plan

walls are austere and simple

• shows purity and restraint

architecture tells you about the values and core principles of the enlightenment

facade feature a portico with Corinthian columns

• come from existing Roman columns in Lebanon

• not inspired or spolia but instead exact minute reproductions of existing columns

  • this is the spirit of the enlightenment

  • exact, scientific precision

dedicated to people that had civic virtue during the revolution

Recap: How does neoclassicism emerge?

emerges out of empiricism and inspiration of classical antiquity and they come together

Timeline of revolution, neoclassicism and romanticism

neoclassicism emerges just before revolution

• radicalized and consolidated during revolution

• more didactic after revolution

• promoted by French Academy

moving into 19th century, neoclassicism is most supported

1870 → Romanticism had captured artists and the public

Romanticism time period

1800-1840

doesn’t necessarily dethrone neoclassicism

What was Romanticism triggered by? What was the overall style?

triggered by Napoleon’s series of defeats

• France had a bitter feeling of lost and defeat

• mood in France was similar to that of Hellenistic period in Greece

• darker mysterious, morbid

dynamic, moody, romanticism

Jean Louis Théodore Géricault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1818-1819

immense canvas

• figures are larger than life

depicts a real story of a shipwreck where ship Medusa crashed due to incompetence of captain (political appointee)

built a make-shift raft and survived for 13 days

• via cannibalism

dark scene

multi-figure composition

dynamism

hodge-podge of swirling bodies, overlapping

no clear central axis, unstable composition

• illusion to triangular composition with mass and ropes and human figures emerging

emotion over reason

• no civic virtue

embracing weakness of men

Compare and contrast in terms of message, emotional tone, composition/form, use of light and colour

• Message

  • Moral clarity vs. social injustice/government failure

• Emotional tone

  • Stoic/rational scene (emotions are present but restrained), cerebral, not meant to stir any significant emotions vs. raw, dramatic, filled with horror and desperation, slight hope, appeals to viewers emotions and empathy

• Composition and form

  • Balanced, symmetrical, clear geometry, vertical and horizontal lines vs. chaotic, diagonals that pull the viewers eyes, figures are twisting and struggling, pile of bodies all suffering

• Use of light and colour

  • Colour palette is clean, even lighting, harmonious, contrasting colours (blue and red), neutral background and pops of colours in foreground to walk us through narrative vs. earthy, stormy tones that reflect reality, natural setting

What was the Romantic interest in the sublime?

feeling of awe mixed with terror

• not gory or morbid

• thrilling and grand

• terrifying and awe-inspiring

recognition of our smallness in the face of nature’s power

human figures placed in untamed nature landscapes

Caspar David Friedrich, Wanderer above a Sea of Mist, 1817-1818. Oil on canvas.

• stands stably on cliff

• centrally positioned add to stability of posture

• triangular symmetrical cliff support

• he is safe and yet in front of him flows a sea of mist and rock outcrops

• viewer is positioned at the level of the man’s head and we feel as though we are sharing this view

  • deeper sense of empathy

  • in particular for male salon viewers

John Constable, The Hay Wain, 1821. Oil on canvas.

British painters weren’t focused on stormy seas of mountaintops

for them the threatening force was the industrial revolution for the countryside

• human power and development

• factories, railways, mass production that were taking over traditional lifestyles

overall serene and pastoral scene

• calm, familiar

• gentle irregularity

• soft lines

• delicate brush work

• figures are at ease and living

• harmony between nature and humans

  • Doesn't show the economic collapse instead it offers a nostalgic image of a harmonious countryside (a fantasy and a longing)

hint of unease in dark cloud

this calm is fragile and change is coming

melancholy

What were the three moods of the Romantic period?

Human Struggle and Social Injustice

sublime (terror mixed with awe)

melancholy and sentimentality