the neoclassical art period reached
its height in the late 18th and early 19th century born in rome and spreading
throughout europe and the united states this movement was a return to ancient greek and
roman art characteristics and ideals neoclassical art was to portray the ideas of simplicity
reason order virtue and civilized society by the end of this video you'll learn about four
important things that led to the neoclassical art period as well as the main characteristics of
art during this time for more videos that help you learn experience and enjoy art history
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be notified when i release new videos each week as i've taught my students and learned
about neoclassicism through my studies i've come to realize there are four main things
that led to the neoclassical art movement i tried to narrow my list down to just three but
i couldn't leave any of these out one a pushback on the baroque and rococo art movements two the
writings of johann joachim winckelmann three the excavations of pompeii and herculaneum in italy
and for the 18th century age of enlightenment the two preceding art movements to neoclassicism are
baroque and rococo the baroque art movement lasted approximately 150 years from 1600 to 1750 and was
full of drama emotion and tension the rococo or late baroque art movement started in the early
1700s and last until the mid to late 1700s rococo built off of baroque but had a more fun
sensual and frivolous nature to it rococo also turned its attention away from the church and
christian themes becoming more hedonistic in a way for more on rococo you can watch my video
that covers this movement in more depth the neoclassical art movement follows
rococo in the late 1700s in many ways it was a push back to the gaudy frivolous and
over-the-top nature of baroque and rococo some of the leading figures to neoclassism
actually fought against the leaders of rococo the french aristocracy and so as i mentioned at
the beginning neoclassicism is full of simplicity reason and a return to order and virtue you
can't talk about the neoclassical art movement without mentioning the writings of johann joachim
winckelmann who was a german art historian and archaeologist in fact many people believe he was
the father of art history so thanks wincklemann his writings from the mid-1700s were a deep dive
into the ideals of roman and greek art he believed that art should aim for noble simplicity and calm
grandeur and that the only way for us to become great is to imitate the ancients these writings
had a huge impact on our return to greek and roman ideals especially in art and to the simplicity of
the neoclassical art movement in the mid 1730s and 40s the real excavations of the ancient cities of
pompeii and herculaneum began these excavations included the discovery of roman art and
architecture and revived the study of greek and roman art in fact rome was a major stop for the
grand tour which was a traditional trip taken by european upper class men once they reach the age
of 21. this stop on the grand tour helped spread neoclassicism from rome to other parts of europe
finally the neoclassical art period coincided with the 18th century age of enlightenment this
philosophical movement valued science and reason and helped drive the industrial revolution the
ideals of individual liberty religious tolerance and constitutional governments were pushed and
so neoclassical artists inspired by these ideas portrayed art that was civilized reasonable
and contributed to a more orderly society with the background of these four things that led
up to the neoclassical movement it's a little bit easier to understand the art and architecture
styles of this time period as well as everything else already mentioned the characteristics of art
during this time were serious symmetrical orderly virtuous and heroic the art often depicted
characteristics from classical history as well as political philosophical and religious
leaders that were important to the time and the architecture became more simple less ornate than
baroque and rococo architecture although some may find neoclassical art boring i think you can
find a lot of beauty in the classic nature of the roman and greek art characteristics that
were used in the neoclassical time period but if you missed some of that drama there were some
artists that were able to bring the intensity and drama back into painting just in a more simple
fashion i love jacques louis david's paintings during the apex of neoclassicism leader of
the movement in france his art was simple yet dramatic and captivating his artwork
eventually turned into propaganda but his craft was incredible and impacted many
students who would go on to produce great art if you have any questions about the neoclassical
art period make sure you comment below and if you found this video helpful click that like
button if you want to see how neoclassicism fits into the larger timeline of art history you can
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