ARTS OF THE

NEOCLASSIC
AND ROMANTIC
PERIODS
Neoclassicism (1780-1840)
-came from the Greek word ‘neos’ meaning “new”
and the Latin word classicus which means similar in
meaning to the English phrase “first class”.
-It also applies to literature, theater, music, and
architecture that were influenced by the Classical art
and culture of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
• Also Neoclassical movement coincided with the 18 th century Age of Reason also
known as the Age of Enlightenment. The art style in this period was brought about
by the renewed interest in Greek and Roman classics.
Characteristics:
Portrayal of Roman history
Formal compositions
The use of diagonals to show the peak of an emotion or moment (versus a regular
moment)
Local color
Overall lighting
Classic geo-structure
NEOCLASSIC PAINTING

Neoclassical artists embraced the ideals of order and

moderation in which artistic interpretations of classical
Greek and Roman history were restored to realistic
portrayals. Neoclassical painters gave great importance to
the costumes, settings, and details subject-matter without
adding distracting details but with as much historical
accuracy as possible.
NEOCLASSICAL
ARTIST
 PAINTERS AND SCULPTORS

JACQUES-LOUIS DAVID JEAN-AUGUSTE-

DOMINIQUE INGRES
Painter Painter

ANTONIO CANOVA BERTEL THORVALDSEN

Sculptor Sculptor
JACQUES-LOUIS DAVID NEOCLASSICAL PAINTER

He was an influential French painter

in the Neoclassical style and
considered to be the pre-eminent
painter of the era.
His subjects of paintings were more
on history.
THE DEATH NAPOLEON CROSSING OATH OF THE
OF MARAT THE ALPS HORATII
 JEAN-AUGUSTE-DOMINIQUE INGRES
Ingres was a pupil of Jacques-Louis
David.
-He was influenced by Italian Nicolas
Pousin, Botticelli, and his mentor,
Jacques-Louis David.
-His paintings were usually nudes,
portraits and mythological themes.
-He was regarded as one of the great
exemplars of academic art and one of the
 PORTRAIT OF NAPOLEON THE APOTHEOSIS
ON THE IMPERIAL THRONE of HOMER
ANTONIO CANOVA NEOCLASSIC
SCULPTOR

-He was a prolific Italian artist and

sculptor who became famous for his
marble sculptures that delicately
rendered nude flesh.
-He opened the Idea for portraying
discrete sexual pleasures by using
pure contours with his mythological
compositions.
WASHINGTON (A. PSYCHE AWAKENED
Canova) BY CUPID’S KISS
BERTEL THORVALDSEN

-He was the first internationally

acclaimed Danish artist.

-He executed sculptures of

mythological and religious
themes characters.
LION of LUCERNE (B. CHRIST (B.
THORVALDSEN
THORVALDSEN)
NEOCLASSICA
L
ARCHITECTUR
Neoclassical Architectural styles started in the mid-18th
century. It turned away from the grandeur of Rococo style
and the Late Baroque. In its purest form, Neoclassical
architecture was a style principally derived from the
architecture of Classical Greece and Rome and the
architectural designs of the Italian architect Andrea
Palladio.
TYPES OF NEOCLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE
TEMPLE PALLADIAN CLASSICAL
STYLE STYLE BLOCK STYLE
TEMPLE STYLE

-it is a building design was based on an ancient

temple. Many temple style buildings feature a
peristyle ( a continuous line of columns around
a building0, a rare feature of Renaissance
architecture.
LA MADELEINE de PARIS BRISH MUSEUM, LONDON,
Robert Smirke

PANTHEON
PALLADIAN STYLE

Palladian buildings were based on Andrea

Palladio’s style of villa construction. Some of
the buildings feature a balustrade which is a
railing with vertical supports along the edge of
the roof. There are vertical supports within a
balustrade known as “balusters” or “spindles”.
One of the famous architects in the era was Robert Adam.
He was known as the Palladian architect of the
Neoclassical who designed two well-known American
civic buildings. The White House and the United States
Capitol. He had also designed many country houses.

WHITE HOUSE UNITED STATES CAPITOL

BLOCKSTYLE
The building features a rectangular or square plan,
with a flat roof and exterior rich in classical detail.
The exterior features a repeated classical pattern or
series of arches and/or columns.
The overall impressions of such a building was a
hug, classically-decorated rectangular or block..
Classical block architecture also flourished in the
United States particularly in New York.
FAMOUS ARCHITECT