Ch. 19) Neoclassicism: The late 18th and early 19th centuries
Neoclassical style in France
Clodion’s terracotta Nymph and Stayr Carousing shows the frivolity of Rococo
Antonio Canova’s Cupid and Psyche show the gradeur of the Neoclassical
The Canova is reminiscent of Classical ballet with smooth surfaces, broad poses
Cupid is leaning over with spread out wings
Psyche has her arms around Cupid’s head
contrasts to the “satirical” Rococo work by Clodion
Art in the Service of the State: Jacques - Louis David
political aspects of the Neoclassical style came from associations with heroic subject matter, impression of stability and solidity
also cam from references to Athenian democracy and Roman Republic
In artistic terms, the Neoclassical style was a reaction against Rococo
Politically, it came about because of the beliefs from the Enlightenment
Resentment towards monarchs, favoring the rights of the people
Napolition adopted Neoclassical style to sustain his political image after the French Revolution
Lacques-Louis David (leading Neoclassical painter) - appealed to republicant thoughts with Classical antiquity
Created Oath of the Horatii that shows an event from Roman tradition that memorialized honor and self-sacrifice
THe figures wear Roman clothes and it takes places in a ROman architectural setting
3 rounded arches on a type of Doric column
Horatius raises his sons’ 3 swords on which they swear an oath of allegiance to Rome
on the left, Soldiers make vigorous gestures - links to ROman patriotism and self-sacrifice for the good of the state
On the right, there are women and children - are more emotional, contrast to the soldiers
includes the sisters of Horatii
In the back (in the shadows), Horaitus’s wife comforts her grandchildren
Painting was commission by Louis XVI as part of a program aimed at the moral improvement of France
Modern viewers see it as propaganda
Ideals in this were appealing to royalist supporters of the king and their republican opponents
In the Death of Socrates, David used a subject from Greek history to shows heroism and self-sacrifice in the service of intellectual freedom
Athenians object Socrates’ teachings, thought they corrupted the youth
Offoed a choice of exile or death but refused to abandon his principles
This piece shows the last moments of Socrates who was continuing to teach until the end
One disciple is handing Socrates a govlet of poison hemlock while looking away
Another is wearing classical dress and listening to Socrates
Architecture of the prison is similar to the Oath of Horatii - clarity and boxlike construction
These 2 works were important images for France (on the verge of a revolution)
2 years after David painted the Death of Socrates, mobs in Paris stormed the Bastille and started the revolution
Death of the Marat - David uses Neoclassical style in the service of contemporary political events
David and Marat were both members of the Jacobin movment (group of revolutionary extremists and patrons of David’s paintings)
David himself was elected to the National Convention and voted to send Louis XVI to the guillotine
Was imprisoned twice when Robspierre (minister who presided over the Reight of Terror) fell
Regained favor under Napoleon who appointed him his imperial painter and granted him a barony
David left France and died in Brussels (1825) after Napoleon’s exile
Painting is set in a clear cubic space, depicts a recent event istead of a Classical one
Emphasizes Marat’s role as a political martyr - shows both intellectual and political enlightenment
David idealized Marat in Classical fashion because his body suffered from a skin disease
Found relief from soaking in a bath
a stab wound is visible and the loody bath water is staining a sheet
Marat has a writing surface placed over the tub
is holding a letter sent by his killer
his killer was a woman who saw herself as a modern Brutus killing a tyrant
David used Marat’s death as propaganda
Napoleon and the Arts
David started making images for Napoleon starting in 1799
David made Napoleon at Saint Bernard Pass - shows Napoleon crossing the Alps, similar to Roman equestrian portraits
Napoleon is wearing full military realia, sitting on a white charger
Wind blows at their backs
Drawn in precise detail
His dramatic gesture and horse’s pose are imitations of early ROmanticism
David’s Neoclassicism is used here in the intersts of the new political regime in France
After being crowned emperor, Napoleon began commissioning monuments reflecting imperial ROme to be made
Had the idea of building the Arc de Triomphe (Arch of Triumph)
The Arc stands at a intersection int he Place Charles de Gaulle
Has the largest arch ever built
Napoleon also commissioned a monumental freestanding Doric column of marble, topped with a statue of himself
Inspired by Trajan’s Column in Rome
He also brought Neoclassical sculptor Canova to Paris - Napoleon’s sister had him create a marble sculpture of herself as Venus
Napoleon also enlisted services of Marie-Guillemine Benoist
She created several portraits of him
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
He was another student under David that worked for Napoleon
Uses both concepts from Neoclassicism and Romanticism
Created the painting Oedipus and the Sphinx
shows Oedipus solving the Sphinx’s riddle, a frightened Theban is running behind them back towards the city
Oedipus’s head is similar to Greek statues, his body doesn’t show Classical styles
Also created Grande Odalisque - commissioned by Napoleon’s sister Caroline Bonaparte Murat
Shows a idealized reclining nude seen from the back
Figure seems to be looking at the viewers
Has precise edges and a clear form
Removed from French setting - background is of exotic items with illusionistic textures
Shows the time’s craze for things “orientalist” following Napoleon’s failed military campaigns in Syria and North Africa
Also created La Princesse de Broglie
His last portraits of aristocrats
Figure in a blue silk and white lace dress, elaborate jewelry, leaning against a gold chair
Ingres created it by first creating a nude model than dressing it in rich clothing and surrounding her in an aristocratic setting
Developments in America
American Revolution happened a few years after the French Revolution
With America’s liberation came the departure from pre-Revolutionary “Colonial Georgian” style
The Architecture of Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson embodied the principles of Neoclassicism
French sculpture, Jean- Antoine Houdon carved a marble portrait bust of Jefferson
Is converted as a composed and thoughtful person
Jutting chin, slight smile, slightly furrowed brow
Jefferson’s views on architecture also show his Classical education and humanist outlook
Also studied Classical and Palladian architectural theory
Disliked the houses of Virginia (materials and how they were constructed)
Also worked as an architect
Made 3 of the finest Neoclassical buildings in America
Designed his home in 1769 called the Monticello (Italian for “Little Mountain”)
Built in 2 stages
At first, it was designed as a building with 2 stories
Remodeling started in 1294
Jefferson decided that he wanted to make the house seem like it had a single story
House is connected to 2 small pavilions by a wooden boardwalk
Below the boardwalk and level of the lawn were service areas of the house (kitchen, cellar, icehouse, stables, etc.)
Jefferson was inspired by Palladio and the Chiswick House)
Monticello’s individual rooms, its dome, and central drum are octagons - broaden corners of the building, expand interior spaces
Roman influence
Jefferson used the Temple of Portunus as the model for a new State Capitol of VIrginia in Richmond
Both were designed in the context of representative government
Also created the University of Virginia
It’s centerpiece is the Rotunda - originally the library
Inspired by the Pantheon in Rome
On either side of the Rotunda, framing the central lawn, are 2 symmetrical rows of low, colonnaded buildings (used as student quarters)
Each pavilion reproduces an architectural order according to a Classical prototype
Pavilions also housed academic departments
Classrooms not eh ground floor
Living quarters for the professors on the upper floor
John Trumbull’s Declaration of Independence
(1817) Pres. James Madison commissioned John Trumbull to paint 4 pictures illustrating American Independence for the Rotunda of the Capitol building
One of them including the Declaration of Independence
All the signers are present in the painting, all wearing plain, contemporary American dress
Tallest figure is Jefferson and is handing a copy of the Declaration to John Hancock
To his left is Benjamin Franklin
In the left foreground is John Adam’s
Greenough’s George Washington
Horatio Greenough - America’s first professional sculptor
Marble statue that was inspired by Phidias’s Early Classical sculpture of Zeus in the temple of Olympia
Has Romantic qualities - nude from the waist up, figure pointing upwards
Embodies that Washington was a man of action, political philosopher, ruler, and general
Was created in Italy and did not reach America until 1841
Neoclassical style was no longer trendy and was criticized for its partial nudity
Placed outside the Capitol building where it began eroding
Now sits inside the Smithsonian American Art Museum