What are the representative figures and works of classical art (non-neoclassicism)

Classicism has been in and out of the context of art history for many times: it began in Greece and Rome, reappeared in the Renaissance in the 15th century, reappeared in the neoclassicism in the 18th century, and in the post-modern situation of the 20th century, it attached itself to visual art in a multifaceted, cunning and stubborn way, and became a visual language that can't be ignored in contemporary times. This paper will discuss the aesthetic view and implementation strategy of classicism in Renaissance, as well as the historical context of classicism and the classical presence of contemporary art, in order to develop the energy of classical aesthetics.

The implementation strategy and aesthetic view of classicism in Renaissance

The characteristics, aesthetics and realization of classicism laid a solid visual foundation in Greece and Rome, but in the Renaissance, this tradition was regarded as a rational norm with diversified ways and structures, which enabled its powerful force to continue its unified form, strict structure and regular order after more than two thousand years.

1, anatomy

Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher, began to dissect animals in the fourth century BC to observe the real world with a sense of inquiry; /kloc-At the beginning of the 3rd century, the first medical school was established in Bronn, and artists learned to anatomically study the tissues, muscles and bones inside the human body to understand the body structure. And deeply explore the human body structure and break through the visual limitations of external performance. 1435, Alberdi (1404- 1472, Italian architect, artist, musician and poet) thought that artists must learn basic painting by dissecting the human body: from early muscle structure training to depicting artificial human body to later mature natural expression, human anatomy has become an essential ability for artists to depict human body. /kloc-At the beginning of the 6th century, human anatomy became the most interesting theme for all artists in Florence. Leonardo da vinci studied and practiced human anatomy with a surprising number of sketches (figure 1), so that his oil paintings can give us a perfect visual experience with elegant and natural images. And Michelangelo's works, due to the extension of personal expressionism, show muscular men and women. Even when depicting babies, they use exaggerated and muscular muscles to express their limbs, showing their love for anatomy unabashedly.

2. Vision

In order to make the plane successfully present three-dimensional space, Renaissance artists developed various perspective methods, some of which were based on actual observation like traditional classicists, while others were based on geometric mechanics. The actual observer comes from the viewer's visual experience and can express subjective views. For example, andrea mantegna's The Execution of St James (Figure 2) puts the point of view beyond the lower boundary of the picture, resulting in a noble, bold and dramatic composition from bottom to top. However, according to the mechanical measurement of geometry, one or two vanishing points are used to assist the representation of perspective, and the assumed vanishing points in space are used to produce a three-dimensional effect with gradual depth change.

Mechanical perspective is based on theoretical concepts, which easily leads to unnatural visual effects; However, if combined with actual observation, artists can express space more orderly and naturally, make the plane appear deep, make the proportion of characters conform to this spatial structure, make the volume and spatial relationship between people and things reconcile with each other, and make the realistic description reach a more perfect realm. For example, the proportion of buildings, floors, stairs and people depicted by Raphael of Yadian College (Figure 3) are carefully constructed according to perspective method to show a deep sense of space. The application of perspective principle in the artistic expression in the Renaissance has become a classical technique that has been highly valued and widely used because it helps to express the three-dimensional realistic space.

3. Artists are scientists.

Renaissance artists, like scientists, have great interest in observing and studying natural phenomena. The information and process obtained from these observations and studies help them to pursue details, exquisiteness and correct expression in their works.

One of the most famous examples can be traced back to Leonardo da Vinci, who has a very rich and in-depth study of the human body and is also interested in the discussion of the reproductive process. Therefore, when he studied the physiological structure of men and women, he compared it with humans by means of plant reproduction. In addition to depicting the internal organs without omission, he also used scientific analysis and observation to compare and record the details, which made the classical tradition inherit more deeply and clearly, which is also the performance of his long-term painting.

Combined with scientific research in many fields, Renaissance artists led the classical cognition of painting and sculpture to the field of the highest technical expression.

4. Pursuing the idea of perfection

The perfect spatial structure not only comes from the assistance of perspective, but also depends on the observation experience accumulated by artists; Perfect human performance depends not only on the correct combination of proportions, but also on the muscle and bone structures summarized and arranged in anatomy. For paintings and sculptures in the Renaissance, the relationship between "man" and "space" represents the individual's cognition and exploration of the world, and the pursuit of perfection requires rational cognition to idealize the imperfect situation in real life.

Michelangelo praised the patron saint of Florence with the idealized structure of the human body and the muscle structure that meets the standard aesthetic feeling. In Yadian College (Figure 3), Raphael put a group of prophets in an unmistakable angle according to their importance. In Mona Lisa (Figure 5), Leonardo da Vinci put the characters in the center of the picture with a pyramid-shaped composition, expressed the nature in the background with an "aerial perspective", and described the serene and mysterious expression of women with impeccable golden ratio, light and face.

5. Pursuing harmony.

People in the Renaissance believed that human beings must balance their talents and interests not only in art but also in life. Leonardo da Vinci once said, "Do you know that our souls are composed of harmony? When we pay equal attention to the structure of all parts of things, harmony naturally arises. 」

Leonardo da Vinci's belief in pursuing a harmonious life is evident in the film "The Age of Masters": in the film, Leonardo da Vinci is painting the Mona Lisa in the studio and musicians are playing music. Leonardo da vinci put down his brush to study his unfinished invention, then played the instrument and returned to the canvas. Whether these actions overlap or occur before and after, they all create a harmonious aesthetic feeling between the studio and life.

Renaissance people's mastery of their talents and interests, like the master of the universe, is orderly and uninterrupted. They believe that man can master the balance and harmony in the universe (I ching: a gentleman strives for self-improvement).

Classicism is divorced from historical context.

In the 2,000-year life of classicism, the Renaissance in15th century played its heyday. However, before the Renaissance, there were two different artistic trends in the history of western art: the classical tradition of Greece and Rome and the art of the Middle Ages. Although western civilization started from the classical culture of Greece and Rome, which deeply influenced the development of the Renaissance, the religious culture in the Middle Ages ended the continuation of this tradition.

In its golden age (480-430 BC), the development of Greek classicism made remarkable achievements in art, architecture, philosophy, poetry and drama with rational and idealized humanistic cognition. In this diversified humanistic exploration, many famous fairy tales are also injected to explain the essence of human nature and the meaning of life. Apollo, the sun god, is regarded as the representative of rationality, while Dionysus, the god of wine, is the representative of sensibility. Such binary opposition features appear constantly in the course of human life, which is the "prototype" that human beings must face in order to survive, and it is also the tragic fate that human beings cannot avoid. Friedrich nietzsche also believes that this dualistic spirit is the strength of the interdependence and growth of human body and spirit in Greek tragedies, and its balance is the philosophical thinking of carrying forward the rational and harmonious characteristics of Greek classicism. (Figure 6)

After Rome conquered the world and established an empire on Greek territory, the classical tradition of Greece was not destroyed; On the contrary, the Romans took Greek classicism as a model, which showed their belligerence and secularity, and merged the cultures of the areas they conquered-from England to Egypt, from Spain to South Russia-together, thus achieving Roman classicism. In addition to the traditional rules, they created arches and domes to increase the practical space of the building. On the other hand, in the handed down sculptures and a few paintings, because of their belligerence, emperors, generals and other realistic commemorative figures are often the main ones, which is different from Greek mythological figures. Although Greece and Rome have different humanistic cognitive backgrounds in the performance of classicism, they have inherited and completed the characteristics of balance, idealization, harmony and rationality in architecture, sculpture and painting, laying a traditional foundation for western civilization. (Figure 7)

However, this profound classical achievement collapsed in the fifth century A.D. due to barbarian invasion. And with the germination of Christian belief in the first century, people began to change their cognition of life, so they took redemption of the innate "original sin" as their main expectation and work in this life, hoping to turn over a new leaf in the next life. In this respect, in the past, the outlook on life in Greece and Rome was based on the belief that life exists in this world and is the master of this world. In the middle ages, after the end of life, people entrusted themselves to the afterlife and regarded religion as their bargaining chip to cross into the afterlife. Although in the Middle Ages, magnificent church buildings were developed and there were complex decorative patterns inside the church, such different humanistic cognition made it impossible to continue the classical tradition.

For example, in the Middle Ages, people regarded God as the only creator, and believed that realistic characters represented the tangible world, so realistic descriptions were suspected of offending religion. In this religious era, only unreal, stylized and conceptual modeling can be allowed to express the abstract cognition of obeying religion and help mankind enter the afterlife. Classicism was strangled by such religious ideas and fell asleep for nearly a thousand years. It was not until the Renaissance in the 15th century that it was revived. This medieval period, from a classical point of view, is also called the "dark period".

/kloc-the artists of the 0/5th century were liberated from the complicated philosophy and the rule of the church in the Middle Ages, and they began to realize that they were independent individuals seeking truth. They believe that they are the center of the universe and can understand the world in their own way, but therefore they don't need to rely on imaginary or abstract God and his teachings to survive. Classicism, which represents Greek and Roman civilization, has become the research object of their discussion on the concept of man and the focus of their pursuit of rational cognition. At this time, Florence became the "new Athens" for Renaissance artists and scholars.

In terms of artistic expression, figure sculptures and paintings in the early Renaissance began to show humanity. Their volume, proportion, light and color all show natural and true effects, and the characters are vividly portrayed by three-dimensional performance. Donatello's "Saint Kyle" (Figure 8) and other sculptures are based on the traditional classical style, putting the body weight of the saint on one leg to show the true posture of self-contained; Paintings, such as Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (Figure 9), show classical myths and vividly depict elegant Venus, her waitress and Fengshen. Whether naked or wearing a thin skirt, there are also substantial physical manifestations, and the scenery and buildings around the picture are also treated according to the perspective principle.

With the early Renaissance artists' discussion and expression of the principles of classicism, the three famous Renaissance artists, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael, devoted themselves to practicing the Greek ideal of perfection, pushing the spirit of classicism to the peak. Just as Vitruwe, the architect of the first century, put forward the standard of the proportion of human body: when our hands and legs are straight, we can just form a "perfect" square and circle, while Leonardo da Vinci, who regards mathematics as the supreme truth, expanded this concept and thought that "all human truth research should be analyzed through mathematics" and drew the human body painted by Vitruwe (figure 10): At this time, your limbs will form a right circle, your navel is at the center of the circle, and the space between your legs will inevitably form an equilateral triangle. 」

The standard proportion of human body can form three geometric shapes: circle, square and equilateral triangle. Therefore, human beings have found a perfect basis from themselves, re-emphasizing that "man is the measure of all things", and the exploration of self-ability has become the basic cognition of the Renaissance. Since then, Renaissance artists have more actively applied techniques such as "anatomy" and "perspective" in their works, and continued the development of classical concepts. They regard themselves as "artists and scientists" and pursue the beliefs of "perfection" and "harmony" in concept.

Renaissance classicism began to decline after Raphael's death, and its value and standard were questioned by "emotionalism". The artist's performance gradually develops in the direction of disintegrating its rigorous structure, which makes people feel "decadent" and "degenerate" visually, and makes the development of classicism suffer another bumpy fate. Although the Baroque period tried to regain the visual essence, the extremely changing cognition, living environment and philosophy of life at that time could not make the traditional classicism get attention again.

It was not until the18th century that an archaeological trend began. 1738, the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, which was buried by Vesuvius for nearly 1700 years, was excavated, which once again aroused people's interest in antique collection, and then became interested in classicism. At this time, the artist began to paint with Rome as the background, expressing the noble feelings and moral values of the ancients. For example, Jacques-Louis David studied the commemorative medals, reliefs, bronze statues and Roman paintings of archaeological historians. In the Oath of the Horace Brothers (Figure 1 1), Napoleon's political ambitions in the18th century are metaphorically expressed by rigorous brushwork, steady colors, balanced composition, Roman architectural background, brave and upright soldiers and sad and weak women dressed in ancient costumes. This "ancient fever" lasted for a short quarter of a century, which was replaced by the romantic liberation trend promoted by the French Revolution, and since then, the traditional dogma that classicism has revived for more than 2,000 years has been loosened.

From then on, in the deep introspection, the free thoughts of modernism-romanticism, naturalism, realism, impressionism, post-impressionism, etc. were inspired. Derived from it, it further shaped the diverse and amazing artistic expressions in the first half of the 20th century-Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism, Dadaism, Surrealism, Opal Art, Extreme Art, Surrealism, Concept Art ... (to be ordered)

(Notes)

Kenneth Clark, Naked, p. 193.

Wylie Sypher, Four Stages of Renaissance Style, p. 65, "Do you know that our soul is composed of harmony, and harmony only comes into being when we see or hear the proportion of things at the same time?"

F. Murray Abraham, Mark Frankel and john glover, director, giant's season, a RAI production phone with Turner Film Union Co., Ltd., 199 1. This film describes three Renaissance masters, Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci, their artistic struggle and their relationship.

Friedrich nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy and Moral Pedigree, translated. Francis Golf, new york: Two-Day Anchor Book, 1956.

Kenneth Clark, Nude: A Study of Ideal Forms, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University, 1972, p. 15.

Wylie Sypher, Four Stages of Renaissance Style: the Transformation of Art and Literature, new york Garden City. Company, 1955, p. 6 1.

Ibid., p 63.

Edited by Jacques Marseille and Nadeije Laneyrie-Dagen. , World Art History, Lianjing Publishing House, 1998. Page 2 14-2 15.

Postmodern thinking of classicism

In the expression of post-modern art, there is also a school that mainly focuses on returning to classicism. Classicism at this time is no longer a pure emphasis and worship of classical cognition. On the contrary, these artists experienced the baptism of conceptual art in the 1970s, and in the 1980s they began to get tired of abstract concepts, so they returned to painting-classical painting. But in the performance of painting, we can no longer recognize the image, such as the belief in ideals and standards in classical painting. Therefore, these artists may return to painting expression, but they depict classical images and describe the contents of Greek mythology. However, the "context" they arranged behind their works is "dislocation" and "confusion" in contemporary thought. For example, in "Surrender to the Hands of Intellectuals" (Figure 12), Carlo Maria Mariani sat face to face with two handsome men like the Greek poet Laureate, and painted each other, which not only revealed the message of "homosexuality" that was hotly debated at the dinner table, but also represented the poet Laureate's praise for poetry. In form, the classical layout makes us feel familiar and nostalgic, but in the transmission of information content, people are surprised and caught off guard.

Sharon Gaius Cassius Longinus's Sabine Robbery in Pu Sang (Figure 13) reproduces the oil painting Sabine Robbery by French artist Pu Sang in the 7th century (Figure 14) by sewing cotton cloth and soaking polyester fiber in a rigid relief way. Pu Sang's original works are depicted by classical techniques, and the body language in the paintings should be constantly debated. It abides by the calmness of classical laws and takes Greek classical statues as the standard for depicting characters. The content of the work is to describe the legendary ancient Romans who took Sabine women and raped them during the celebration, and then married them to reproduce the Romans. All wedding ceremonies remind people of this collective rape, and marriage is a kind of "rebuilding dignity". Based on her works, Xie questioned the materialization and meanness of this historical legend in needlework sewing, and made a gentle protest against the legendary story that Sabine kept appearing in the bride's dowry box and brainwashed women for centuries. As Simon Bova said, "Women are not born, they are shaped." If we can return to the unpainted canvas and present it as an unwitting doll, can we save the fate of gender inequality? In addition, Pu Sang's original works show the three-dimensional expression that he has been keen on since the Renaissance, while his flawed works firmly grasp the three-dimensional characteristics of the relief, and more substantially show the three-dimensional expression of the two-dimensional space. But after this transformation, the visual depth of the work has been flattened. This is like the goal of classical standards is perfection, but at the end of the road, it turns back to the plane result of the Middle Ages. Kan Kan is a post-modern classical concept, and she doubts the revival of gender consciousness and the mechanism of classical painting.

Muriel Castanys's The Man Standing in a Towel (Figure 15) comes from the "Three Goddess" in the Greek period (Figure 16). "Three Goddess" is the soft texture of a stone carved into cloth, which is enough to witness the Greek's ability in artistic expression. However, the head and hands of the goddess have been lost for a long time, but the elegant posture and expression of the goddess have never been lost. The three goddesses are the story of the golden apple in Greek mythology. Venus, Athena and Silas competed for the championship in the beauty contest, bribing Pacis with love, power and wealth, while Pacis accepted Venus' love, which triggered the Trojan War. This epic record led Castagni to create Standing Wrapped in Towels. She is as flawed as others, and she also created A by soaking polyester fiber in cotton cloth. On the one hand, Castagni thinks that "beauty" is invisible (so the protagonist's face and hands are invisible), on the other hand, he implies that anyone can become a beauty god as long as he takes a step. In San Francisco, a postmodern building near China designed by philip johnson and john burgee (Figure 17), Castagni's works were placed on the roof for decoration, and three (three goddesses) were placed on each side of the square building to protect the building and the city together with the statues on the roof of western classical buildings. Castagni's classical decoration is higher than the questioning of classical cognition, which is a relatively pure classical expression.

From Maryanni's playing with the past and the present, questioning the classical spirit and traditional gender concept, to Castagni's returning the definition of beauty to the public space, contemporary classical artists have wandered about its expression techniques, mythological connotation and historical territory. In a nostalgic record, I don't want to take the complete return as a kind of redemption, but play with ethics and order in a paradoxical way. Even if there is a coat of classical expression in the image, it is a split and irrelevant record in the context of letters; Even if it is based on classical historical facts in connotation, it is also a contemporary plot in expression. Contemporary social cognition and ideology allow people to weave with each other in familiar but unfamiliar visual situations, or with black humorous and ironic words, or with subversive and critical historical images. When artists play with the consciousness or image symbolizing classicism, they desecrate the spirit of "eternity, ideal, rationality and purity" of classicism, but at the same time, they let people know art again with familiar and aesthetic visual experience.

Classicism in previous dynasties before the twentieth century always lost its living space because it was too tightly grasped. This admonition makes the post-modern classical thinking choose not to bear the burden of history, so that the meaning of historical images is manipulated in the artist's diverse cognition and rotates with each independent concern and cognition. In this regard, we have to admit that although the fate of classicism fluctuates with the alternation of generations, its tenacious vitality really makes us sincerely admire.

(Notes)

Robert atkins, art spokesman, new york: Abwell Press, 1990, 13 1- 133. "Postmodernism" first appeared in architectural research in the 1960s, and was widely used in art criticism in the late 1970s.

H.W. Zhan Sen, Art History, Harry N. abrams Company, 199 1. Page 588.

Lillian H. Zilpolo, Botticelli's Spring-Advice to Brides, feminism and art history, edited by Norma Braud and Mary D. Gerard, translated by Xie Hongjun, Liu Yuan Press, 1998. Pages 203-222.