Greek Revival and Early American Neoclassicism: Architecture and Grand Manner Painting

Greek Revival in American Architecture and Early American Neoclassicism

• Context and scope

  • Focus on Greek orders and the basic Greek revival as discussed in class.
  • Greek revival as an English importation and import into the United States via English-trained architects like Benjamin Henry Latrobe.
  • Despite its name, the style is not purely Greek nor uniquely American; it circulates in Europe as well (e.g., London) and is reinterpreted in American buildings to signal stability, democracy, and monumental presence.
  • The period most commonly associated with Greek revival in the U.S. begins around oxed{ ext{rac{}{ } ext{approx. } 1820}}, with Latrobe already ahead of the curve in some projects.

• Key ideas and definitions

  • Neoclassicism and eclecticism
  • Eclecticism = borrowing from various classical sources (Greek and Roman) to create a new building while retaining a classical aura.
  • Greek revival often uses a temple-like form (colonnade, pediment, portico) but departs in details (windows, arches) because buildings serve modern functions (banks, markets, churches).
  • Distinction between style and function
  • The Bank of Pennsylvania (Latrobe) demonstrates a temple-like front on a non-temple function (bank): walls and openings with round Roman arches; no complete colonnade encircling the building.
  • Architectural elements commonly associated with Greek revival in the U.S.
  • Columns: Ionic, Doric, or Corinthian orders.
  • Portico and pediment creating a temple-front impression.
  • A generally “stripped down” ornamentation compared to the more elaborate European neoclassicism.
  • Stone construction conveying stability and monumental power (often masonry, heavy feel).
  • Differences from true Greek architecture
  • Greeks did not use round arches; Romans did. Some American Greek revival architecture borrows Roman elements (arches) and adds Roman-dome forms (saucer domes), illustrating eclecticism.
  • Notable deviations in practice
  • Some buildings include windows in the walls where a Greek temple would have none, acknowledging modern functions (e.g., banking, worship).
  • The dome is a Roman influence; Greek temples are typically without domes.

• Major urban exemplars in the Northeast

  • Bank of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Latrobe)
  • Early Greek revival, with a temple-like front and a colonnade, but also a pragmatic ground plan as a bank.
  • Interior considered vaulted, showing a blend of Greek-and-Roman structural ideas.
  • The Second Bank of the United States, Philadelphia (William Strickland, 1818)
  • Built to convey national strength; Doric order; temple-front motif; sits in the growing urban center of Philadelphia (then the largest American city).
  • Quincy Market, Boston (1825)
  • Architect: Alexander Parris, follower of Charles Bulfinch (Federal style lineage).
  • Built with granite; reflects the era’s austerity and lack of ornate detailing; monumental and long in plan.
  • Historical context: granite quarrying near Boston and a new granite-based urban identity; the market function contrasts with temple-like appearance, aligning with the Greek revival’s monumental feel.

• Hudson Valley and upstate examples

  • Dutch Reformed Church, Newburgh, NY (Alexander Jackson Davis)
  • Greek revival church (congregation of Dutch Reformed); temple façade with Ionic order; 1830s construction.
  • Internally, features a barrel vault and coffers, illustrating a Roman influence in the interior rather than a Gothic or medieval layout.
  • Davis is primarily known for Gothic revival work, yet here shows versatility in adopting Greek revival for a religious building.
  • Current condition: severely deteriorated; a case study in preservation challenges and public funding (e.g., Save America's Treasures program).
  • The building lacks a full colonnade (being a church, it needs windows for light) and emphasizes a lighter, more light-filled interior compared to neoclassical public buildings.
  • Upstate vernacular and urban-adjacent Greek revival
  • Farmhouses and urban houses in Upstate New York show Greek revival motifs (notably a pronounced portico with Ionic columns), but on a smaller, less ornate scale.
  • Distinct from the monumental public buildings, these private structures illustrate how Greek revival aesthetics permeated everyday life in the region, aided by accessibility via the Erie Canal and local development.

• Notable terminologies and related concepts

  • Neoclassicism, Greek revival, and eclecticism
  • Neoclassicism = broad umbrella term for a classical-inspired revival in late 18th–early 19th centuries.
  • Greek revival = a specific idiom within neoclassicism emphasizing Greek architectural forms (temple fronts, orders, pediments).
  • Eclecticism = mixing Greek and Roman/classical elements to suit modern programs and tastes.
  • 19th-century American architectural discourse
  • Greek revival often viewed as American-appropriate due to democratic ideals of the founding era, but it remained a transatlantic phenomenon with European roots.
  • Architectural orders and features referenced
  • Doric, Ionic, Corinthian columns; pediment; entablature; metopes; triglyphs; portico; colonnade around the entire building versus end façades only.
  • Interior forms and structural details
  • Barrel vaults (also called tunnel vaults) as an early use in American neoclassical architecture.
  • Coffers in vaulted interiors for light control and decorative effect.
  • Eclectic building typologies
  • Public buildings (banks) use classical forms to project stability, solidity, and financial power.

• The painters and the concept of the Grand Manner history painting

  • The Grand Manner = large-scale history painting, rooted in European academies (especially the Royal Academy in London and the French Academy in Paris).
  • Hierarchy of painting (as taught at the Royal Academy)
  • Top tier: Grand Manner history painting (large-scale, mythic or historical subjects with noble heroism).
  • Then portraits; genre painting (scenes of everyday life with figures);
  • Landscapes; still life at the bottom.
  • American context and early attempts
  • Americans like Vanderlint (John Vanderlyn), Washington Allston, and Samuel F. B. Morse sought to embrace grand manner history painting as signifiers of national cultural status.
  • A common problem: lack of steady patronage and financial backing in the U.S., leading to instability in artists’ careers.
  • Key figures and trajectories
  • John Vanderlyn (Kingston, NY)
    • Studied in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts; patronage from Aaron Burr helped fund his travel and work.
    • The Parisian training exposed him to French neoclassicism and the grand manner.
    • Early works: The death of Jane McCrae (1780s–1790s subject, Tory sympathizer; depiction includes indigenous people and a sensational, late-Romantic mood); this work caused controversy in the U.S. for its portrayal of Indigenous people and alleged nudity in some works.
    • Ariadne Asleep on the Island of Naxos (1809–1814): reclining nude figure from antiquity; caused a major scandal in the U.S. for its nude subject matter; shown in engraving by Asher B. Durand (an engraver who later becomes a pivotal landscape painter in the Hudson River School circles).
    • The Ariadne subject demonstrates how American artists navigated European neoclassicism and American cultural norms (Puritan/early republic sensibilities) and the reception of nude subjects.
    • Panorama project: Lumi the Fourteenth’s Palace and Versailles panorama
    • Vanderlyn attempted to create a nationwide “armchair travel” experience in the U.S. by building a panorama of the Palace of Versailles; built a dedicated panorama building in the U.S. (not designed by Davis) to show three-sixty-degree views of Versailles and its gardens.
    • The panorama was not profitable; Vanderlyn died impoverished in Kingston, NY; this illustrates the precarious financial reality for early American artists and foreshadows the shift to landscape painting as a commercially viable pursuit.
    • Legacy and context: Vanderlyn’s experience foreshadows the rise of landscape painting as a national, marketable subject matter (the Hudson River School) and a shift away from the grand manner history painting in the U.S.
  • Washington Allston (South Carolina-born, Harvard-educated)
    • Studied in Italy and in London with Benjamin West; returns to Boston with high expectations for a major work (Belshazzar's Feast) funded by subscribers.
    • Took many years (started around 1817; completed around 1843, the year of his death) to complete a large biblical-history painting, reflecting patronal challenges and the pressures of public reception.
    • His biblical-historical subject matter (Daniel the Prophet in Belshazzar’s Feast) and later works reveal the tension between European neoclassical style and American expectations for patriotic or national themes.
    • Self-portrait, and other works show interest in ruins and classical settings; Allston’s trajectory mirrors Vanderlyn’s partly: significant promise, obstacles in execution, and the eventual drift toward literature and other media.
  • Samuel F. B. Morse
    • Also studied in Italy and in Paris; faced similar patronage issues as Vanderlyn and Allston; eventually becomes wealthy via invention (the telegraph) and photography (daguerreotype).
    • Morse’s art moved between grand-molded neoclassical subjects and experimentation with architecture of national identity.
    • Notable works:
    • The Capitol chamber painting (The Chamber of the House of Representatives, 1830s): intended to celebrate American neoclassicism but depicted a contemporary scene (candles being lit during a congressional session) that drifted into genre painting, undermining the intended solemnity.
    • Gallery of the Louvre (1831–1833): a grand painting project showing miniature versions of works in the Louvre, intended as armchair travel for Americans who could not travel to Paris; linked to the panorama idea as a form of popular entertainment and national pride in European artistic achievements.
    • Morse’s work demonstrates the tension between European classical ideals and American tastes, as well as the push to elevate American art through modern technology and media.
  • Connections to broader themes
  • The rise of the Hudson River School and the landscape as a distinctly American subject matter: the shift from grand history painting to landscape as a national project; the idea of a national school of American art emerges as landscapes become market-friendly and tied to American identity (e.g., Niagara Falls, the Hudson River region).
  • Patronage challenges and the market: many early American artists relied on small groups of patrons or were funded by notable individuals (e.g., Aaron Burr). The unstable funding cycle contributed to the precarious careers of Vanderlyn and Allston, and foreshadowed the later institutional support that would come with the Hudson River School movement.

• Panoramas, travel, and the early American mass culture

  • The panorama as popular entertainment and armchair travel
  • A panorama is a three-sixty-degree painting experience housed in a purpose-built round or semicircular room; designed to immerse viewers in a location as if traveling there.
  • Vanderlyn’s Versailles panorama represents an American attempt to bring European grand experiences into the home, leveraging novelty and spectacle to attract audiences.
  • The panorama as a precursor to modern media consumption and the public’s appetite for immersive experiences.
  • The Lumi Palace panorama and Versailles
  • Vanderlyn’s Versailles panorama is tied to the larger tradition of panoramic views associated with the French court and Versailles, extended into the American imagination.
  • Although spectacular, the project was financially unsuccessful, illustrating the difference between artistic innovation and market viability in early American art.
  • The Met and panorama legacy
  • Some panoramas survive in museum contexts (e.g., a panorama installed in the American Wing of the Met), where it can be experienced as a historical artifact and curiosity.

• The broader historical context and implications

  • The Erie Canal and Greek revival in Upstate New York
  • The Erie Canal spurs town development and fosters Greek revival-inspired street forms, including Greek-influenced houses and public buildings, contributing to a regional architectural language.
  • The American Building Survey and preservation
  • Historic American Building Survey (HABS) supplies historical photos and documentation (e.g., Dutch Reformed Church, Newburgh) that become crucial for preservation efforts and historiography.
  • The fate of early Greek revival architecture
  • Some buildings survive (e.g., certain urban examples, some private houses), while others fall into disrepair or are repurposed, highlighting the challenges of maintaining 19th-century architecture in changing urban contexts.

• Key figures and cross-references to other lectures or topics

  • Benjamin Henry Latrobe (British-born, trained engineer/architect): important for introducing Greek revival elements to American architecture and for Bank of the United States and the Bank of Pennsylvania examples.
  • Alexander Jackson Davis (Newburgh, NY): Gothic Revival master who also designed a Greek revival church; shows the versatility and stylistic shifts of 19th-century architects.
  • William Strickland (Second Bank of the United States, Philadelphia): another major Greek revival example in urban Philadelphia.
  • Charles Bulfinch and Charles Goldfinch: connect to the Federal/early American architectural lineage and the Boston Greek revival context.
  • Asher B. Durand (engraver who later becomes a key American landscape painter) and Thomas Cole: connections between engraving, print culture, and the rise of the Hudson River School.
  • Jacques-Louis David (Oath of the Horatii, 1784): French grand manner exemplar illustrating neoclassical discipline, fresco-like clarity, and heroic martial values.
  • Germane to the Hudson Valley: the rise of landscape painting as a national art form; the shift from ambitious history painting to a focus on American scenery and the environment as a uniquely American subject.

• Quick reference to dates, figures, and numbers (LaTeX-encoded)

  • Greek revival onset in the U.S.: $ext{ extapprox} ext{1820}$
  • Latrobe’s Bank of Pennsylvania; Strickland’s Second Bank of the United States (Philadelphia): $1818$
  • Quincy Market in Boston: $1825$
  • Dutch Reformed Church, Newburgh: 1830s (1830s)
  • John Vanderlyn’s Ariadne on Naxos: $1809 o 1814$
  • Vanderlyn’s Ariadne engraving by Asher B. Durand: engraving date era (early 19th century)
  • Death of General Wolfe (Benjamin West): $1771$ (depicted in the painting’s era, though the painting is often associated with the late 1760s to early 1770s)
  • David, Oath of the Horatii: $1784$
  • Morse’s Gallery of the Louvre: $1831 o 1833$
  • Panorama Lumi Palace and Versailles: Lumi’s Palace built in the late 17th century context; Versailles panorama develop in late 18th–early 19th century America; precise dates vary by project, and the lecture emphasizes the European-original lineage rather than a single American construction date.

• Connections to real-world relevance and future topics

  • The Hudson River School’s rise as the first national school of American art is framed in contrast to Vanderlyn and Allston’s struggle, highlighting how landscape painting found a market and national identity in America.
  • The role of patrons and funding in shaping an artist’s career (e.g., Burr’s patronage of Vanderlyn; subscriber groups for Allston’s Belshazzar’s Feast) illustrates the economics of art in early America.
  • The shift from grand, mythic, history-painting subjects to landscapes reflects broader American cultural self-definition, including the belief in distinctive American scenery (Niagara Falls, Hudson Valley) as a source of national pride.
  • Preservation, decay, and the role of public funding (HABS documentation, Save America’s Treasures) show how historical architecture is maintained for education and cultural memory.

• Final thought prompts (for study and discussion)

  • How does Greek revival in America reflect both European influence and American democratic ideals?
  • In what ways did architects adapt classical forms to new American functions (banks, churches, markets)?
  • Why did Vanderlyn’s path—international study, mixed reception, panorama ambition—foreshadow the trajectory of American art toward landscape painting?
  • How do patronage structures shape artistic output and subjects in early American art?
  • What early American works might you compare to David’s Oath of the Horatii to understand the transatlantic differences in neoclassical painting?”