What is NEOCLASSICAL art and its characteristics

The neoclassicism It is an artistic style that meant a break with the Baroque and the Rococo and its decorative excesses to take a turn towards austerity. A aesthetic movement of the Enlightenment and which lasted for much of the 18th century, having as its area of ​​origin Europe and, especially, France, Germany and Great Britain.

A time in which reason rose above any other value and which has in Descartes, the Encyclopedia of Diderot and D'Alambert, Spinoza and Kant, among others, the authors and inspiring works for the development of this artistic and cultural movement.

In this lesson of unPROFESOR.com we show you what is neoclassical art and its most outstanding characteristics.

If we go to a strict definition of the term, then it is considered that the neoclassicism is a both literary and artistic current emerged in Europe in the eighteenth century. It is inspired by the values ​​and art of classical antiquity. His influence was reflected in the different artistic expressions, from architecture to painting, sculpture, literature and music.

A return to classicism that constituted the aesthetic expression of the Illustration, something for which the movement also caught on in many countries of the Americas, imbued with the political values ​​of the Enlightenment and the basis of their independence movements.

The cult of reason and the secularization of the State are some of the universal values ​​to combat fanaticism and the atavistic customs of previous centuries. The world of classical antiquity became an inspiring model as the cradle of democracy, philosophy, and the sciences. In this sense, the discoveries of the ruins of Herculaneum (1738) and Pompeii (1748) were also key.

The imperialist attitude of Napoleon, one of the political figures of the Enlightenment, and the authoritarianism and irrationality of states secularized was breaking that faith in reason and giving way to a more intense movement, Romanticism, whose first steps start at the end of the century XVIII.

Within neoclassical painting, we highlight these characteristics:

• The basic characteristics of neoclassical painting appeared published in the book RReflections on Beauty and Taste in Painting (1762) by Mengs. A book that reflects the essential ideas of this style.
• The nature It is presented as the main source of inspiration for the artist, but with an idealized realism in which the canonical proportions of classical Greek sculptures are maintained.
• The scenery they must also be serene and calm.
• In the Pictures the faces have a contained attitude, without showing feelings.
• compositions are also static, geometric and balanced, without showing anecdotes or other elements that distract attention from the main reason for the work. Everything has to happen in the foreground.
• You choose one cold and clear light, introducing golden tones and using chiaroscuro.
• They are very perfectionists.
• The drawing also predominates over the color opting for pale colors, defined contours and details.
• The basic themes are history, mythology and literature, treating the nude from a point of view of morality, virtue and heroism.
• In the case of historical figures, these are patient and moral examples.
• The portrait It is one of the most outstanding genres, capturing the psychology of the portrayed character, always transmitting serenity and elegance.
• The landscape it is a genre that shows an ideal nature that serves as a background to the scenes. There is also a taste for archaeological landscapes.

Most outstanding works of Neoclassicism

Among the most outstanding works of Neoclassicism are the mural painting of "El Parnaso" (1790) by Antonio Rafael Mengs, or the works of Jacques-Loius David, who used the neoclassical style as a way of expressing revolutionary ideals in works such as "El juramento de los Horacios" or "La muerte de Socrates". Also prominent in this list of painters is J. Auguste Ingres.