Neo-Classical Art
Neoclassicism and Neoclassicist Painting & Sculpture.
Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art - HOMEPAGE

The Oath of the Horatii (1784) (detail)
by Jacques-Louis David.
For a list of Neoclassicist painters/
sculptors, see: Neoclassical Artists.

Neo-Classical Art Style (c.1750-1815)

The reaction to the decorative Rococo style was Neoclassicism, a strict classical style stimulated by the discovery of Roman ruins at Herculaneum and Pompeii (1738-50) and the publication in 1755 of the highly influential book Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works of Art, by the German art historian and scholar Johann Winckelmann.

It was also influenced by the earlier classical history painting of Nicolas Poussin (1593-1665) and the classical settings of Claude Lorrain's (1600-82) landscapes.

The revival of artistic canons from Classical Antiquity affected building design as well as fine art. See: Neoclassical Architecture.

The Valpincon Bather (1808) by
Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres.
See Female Nudes in Art History.

PAINTING COLOURS
For details of colour pigments
used by Neoclassical painters, see:
Eighteenth Century Colour palette.

Neoclassicism

Neoclassical works (paintings and sculptures) were serious, unemotional, and sternly heroic. Neo-classical painters depicted subjects from Classical literature and history, as used in earlier Greek art and Republican Roman art, using sombre colours with occasional brilliant highlights, to convey moral narratives of self-denial and self-sacrifice fully in keeping with the supposed ethical superiority of Antiquity. Its strictness was in reaction to the perceived over-indulgence of Rococo and the theatricality of the Baroque.

Neoclassical Painters

Founders and famous artists of Neo-Classicism include the German portraitist and historical painter Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-79), Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) the French master of the Academic art style, and the French political artist Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825). In Britain, followers of Neo-Classicism include: Sir Joshua Reynolds and the Irish virtuoso James Barry.

Thesus and the Minotaur (1781-3)
by Antonio Canova.
See Male Nudes in Art History.

EVOLUTION OF VISUAL ART
For the chronology and dates
of key events in the evolution
of visual arts around the world
see: History of Art Timeline.

Famous Neo-Classical Paintings

Anton Raphael Mengs
The Penitent Mary Magdalene (1752), Gemaldegalerie, Dresden.
The Immaculate Conception (1770-79), Musee du Louvre.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
La Grande Odalisque (1814), Musee du Louvre.
The Valpincon Bather (1808), Musee du Louvre.
Jacques-Louis David
The Oath of the Horatii (1784), Musee du Louvre.
Death of Marat (1793), Musee d'Art Moderne, Brussels.

Neoclassical Sculptors

Leading Neo-Classical sculptors include Antonio Canova (1757-1822) who sculpted for Popes and Napoleon, the Englishman John Flaxman (1755-1826) who also designed Jasperware for Wedgwood, the Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) known for his Jason with the Golden Fleece, and Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828), best known for his portrait busts.

Famous Neo-Classical Sculptures

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736-1783)
Character Head series of 69 portrait busts.
John Flaxman (1755-1826)
Horatio Nelson, Mansfield Monument, Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Antonio Canova
Apollo Crowning Himself (1781) J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
Theseus and the Minotaur (1781-83), Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Cupid and Psyche (1796-7), Louvre, Paris.
Perseus and the Head of Medusa (1797-1801) Vatican Museums, Rome.
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Alexander the Great Entering Babylon (1812, Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome).
Christ and the Twelve Apostles (1819-38, Vor Frue Kirke, Copenhagen).
Jean-Antoine Houdon (Sculptor)
Voltaire (1781), Bibliotheque de la Comedie Francais, Paris.

• For other art movements and periods, see: History of Art.
• For the evolution of painting and sculpture in Ireland, see: History of Irish Art.
• For styles of painting and sculpture in Ireland, see: Irish Art Encyclopedia.