Definition of Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism was an artistic movement that emerged in France in the second half of the 18th century and rapidly expanded in Europe and the United States. Neoclassicism, on the one hand, arose out of a distaste for the elaborate ornamentation of Baroque and Rococo art, and, on the other hand, a desire to revitalize ancient Greek and Roman art through the excavation of the ruins of Pompeii in Rome. Neoclassical artists deliberately imitated ancient art in terms of style and subject matter, and knew what they were imitating. Neoclassicism, as a genre in its own right, first appeared in the mid-seventeenth century in Europe in the fields of architectural and decorative design, as well as in the closely related field of furniture design. Beginning in France, the innovators began to improve and simplify traditional works, using many new materials and techniques, but also retaining the elegant and dignified nobility of classical works. This style soon achieved success, Europe have followed suit, neoclassicism has since become an important part of the distinctive features of the European home culture schools, and has flourished to date.

To revive the ancient Greco-Roman art as the banner of the classical art, as early as the 17th century in France has appeared. It has continued until the early 19th century, becoming the main trend of European literature and art. The so-called classicism is named after the literature and art of ancient Greece and Rome as a model. By the middle of the 18th century, the excavation of Pompeii and the spread of the aesthetic ideas of the German scholar Winckelmann aroused people's interest in classicism, which was revived, so it was called neoclassicism.

A new phenomenon emerged in the 17th century. The French, as a Latin nation, were the heirs of ancient Rome. Politically the Roman Empire has always been a shining example in the minds of the French. The French ruling class was enamored of the title "Empire". They wanted to restore the ancient Roman Empire in the land of France in the age of Augustus in the kind of grand style, in literature and art is also very much like the style of ancient Rome. Therefore, the prototype of French classicism is Latin classicism.

The 17th century in France is known as the era of Louis XIV, the monarch who dominated Europe did not forget to establish a unified official art world. The art at the service of the king and his ruling clique incorporated both ancient and contemporaneous ideas, Catholic and secular, and allowed realistic depictions to take on a mythic appearance. It exalted the classical spirit and showed rigor, nobility, and a cool love of order. They take Greece and Rome as their models. To paraphrase a phrase mentioned by Marx, French classicism is the staging of new scenes of world history in the costume of ancient Rome and in a borrowed language.

On the eve of the French Revolution of 1789, the bourgeoisie, in order to achieve the victory of the revolution, raised the banner of anti-feudal and anti-religious theocracy and the victory of the human ideal in the field of ideology, and called upon and organized the people to rise up and give their lives for the bourgeois revolution. In order to achieve a complete victory in this revolutionary struggle, it is necessary, first of all, to infuse into the psyche of the people the virtue and courage of dedicating oneself to the revolution, that is, the spirit of heroism of fighting for **** and the country. The heroes of ancient Greco-Roman times became idols revered by the bourgeoisie, and the bourgeois revolutionaries made use of these ancient heroes to call upon the masses of the people to give their lives for the truth. As Marx pointed out, they tremblingly invited out the spirits of the dead to give them a helping hand, borrowing their names, battle slogans and clothes in order to act out the new scenes of world history in such long-venerated garments and in such borrowed language. It was in this historical context that neo-classicism arose, which borrowed ancient art forms and ancient heroic themes to create a big bourgeois revolutionary public opinion.

The expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain at that time led to the rise of the classical style of architecture in Spain. With the loss of the Jesuits, the Baroque style of architecture was in increasing decline. Philip V from France, although he was the king of Spain, thought about the French architectural style. He invited a number of architects from France and Italy to serve him, and strongly advocated classicism, such as the classical architect Bar. Rodriguez. Tisson and Juan de. De. Villanueva and others. The famous Prado Museum and Observatory in Madrid are the works of the latter.