Chapter 29 Neoclassicism

1750-1815

Key Ideas

• The Enlightenment brought about a rejection of royal and aristocratic authority. The Rococo style was replaced by the Neoclassical, which was perceived as more democratic.

• Neoclassicism was inspired by the unearthing of the ruins at Pompeii and the books of art theorist Johann Winckelmann

Key Ideas

• Even if works of art depict current events or contemporary portraits, there are frequently classical allusions

• The late eighteenth century was the age of the Industrial Revolution: new technologies such as cast iron were introduced into architecture, and for the first time it became more economical to carve from bronze than marble.

Historical background

• Industrial Revolution, populations boomed, mass production, technological innovations, medical science advancements.

• Improvement of the quality of life offset by a new slavery to mechanized work and inhumane working conditions.

• The Enlightenment: intellectual transformation based on logic and observation.

Historical background

• Denis Diderot (1713-1784) 52 volume French encyclopedia in 1764; Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), first English dictionary 1755; Jean-Jacques Rousseau, legitimate government was an expression of the general will, 1762 Social Contract.

• Political ferment, late eighteenth century transformational moment in European politics. David advocated the sweeping social changes that the French Revolution espoused.

Patronage and Artistic Life

• Rome was the place to see the past. Rome was custodian of inspiration and tradition, not of progress.

• Discovery of buried city of Pompeii• Pompeii inspired art theorist Johann

Winkelmann (1717-1768) to publish The History of Ancient Art in 1764. Considered the first art history book

• Winkelmann criticized Rococo as decadent, celebrated the ancients for purity of form and crispness of execution.

Patronage and Artistic Life

• Art academies began to spring up in Europe and the United States. Artists trained in the proper classical tradition- sent to Rome to study works firsthand

• Grand tour of Italy to complete education. Under guidance of a connoisseur, Naples, Florence, Venice, and Rome. Collected antiquities or buy contemporary art.

Innovations of Neoclassical Architecture

• Cast Iron works• Classicists saw use of exposed iron as an

anathema• Gradually architects accepted iron for its

strength and economy, used as substructure or behind walls of stone or wood.

• Coalbrookdale, England, constructed first iron bridge, proved to be a structural and aesthetic success.

• Nineteenth century iron transformed the history of architecture

Characteristics of Neoclassical Architecture

• Neoclassical buildings were a clever revision of classical principles into a modern framework.

• Outward trappings of Roman works, tailored to living in the eighteenth century.

• From Andrea Palladio’s written books and Inigo Jones, Neoclassicists learned about symmetry, balance, composition and order.

Characteristics of Neoclassical Architecture

• Most great houses of the period had Greek and Roman columns with appropriate capitals.

• Pediments crowned entrances and topped windows. Domes graced the center of homes, setting off gallery space.

• Interior layout almost perfectly symmetrical, rooms mirroring one another on either side of the building.

Characteristics of Neoclassical Architecture

• Each room decorated with a different theme, inspired by the ancient world, others dominant color wallpaper or paint.

• Homes, like the White House, could have a green room or a red room. Others as designed by Robert Adam, had an Etruscan room or a classical entrance gallery

Richard Boyle and William Kent, Chiswick House, 1725, London, England

Villa Rotunda, Palladio

•Boyle: amateur architect

•Kent: interior and garden designer

•Influence of Palladio’s Villa Rotunda; Palladio’s statue is placed at far left; Palladian motif of the decorated halls on the balustrade of the main floor; Palladian low dome; main floor raised over exposed basement level; pediments over windows and doors.

•Jones statue at far right (father of English classicism)

•Symmetrical balance of façade, even chimneys were balanced

•Un-Italian are the large semicircular dome windows and oblesklike chimneys

•Rusticated bottom floor influenced by Italian Renaissance buildings

•Clear, open, white stone surface above, with no ornamentation

•Baroque tradition lingers in the double staircase that changes view as it ascends

•Domed central room is an art gallery containing busts and paintings

•Not a real residence, but a pavilion where Boyle would entertain guests and show his art collection

•Richly decorated rooms of brilliant color

Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, 1770-1806, Charlottesville, Virginia

•“Little mountain” in Italian

•Chief building on Jefferson’s plantation

•Symmetrical interior design

•Brick building, stucco applied to trim to give the effect of marble

•Tall French doors and windows to allow circulation in hot Virginia summers

•Appears to be a one-story building with a dome, but the balustrade hides the second floor

•Inspired by Palladio and Roman ruins in France

•Octagonal dome

•Jefferson obsessed with saving space in his home; very narrow spiral staircases, beds in alcoves or in walls between rooms

John Wood the Younger, The Royal Crescent, 1769-1775, Bath, England

•Bath is a summer resort where the wealthy can take in the health benefits of the naturally warmed waters

•Wood’s Roman design is in keeping with Bath being an ancient Roman City•Thirty residences in an elliptical sweep

•Grand Ionic columns rhythmically framing windows

•Balustraded cornice unifies composition

•Typically English chimney pots placed a rhythmically spaced points along the roofline

•English Characteristic in great length of the crescent

•Public rooms on the second floor of the houses to provide a majestic view down the hill below

Abraham Darby and Thomas Pritchard, Coalbrookdale Bridge, 1776-1779, England

•First substantial structure made of iron

•Five parallel metal Roman arches

•Cast iron is brittle, but the clever design has made the bridge stand effectively

Innovations of Neoclassical painting

• Cloaked their modern sitters in ancient garb, made faces appear more antique

• Canova’s sculpture ( now destroyed ) of George Washington had him dressed as a Roman general

Innovations of Neoclassical painting

• Benjamin West was the first (in 1771) to take epic contemporary events and wrap the figures in modern rather than ancient drapery with The Death of General Wolfe

Characteristics of Neoclassical Painting

• Great epics of antiquity spoke meaningfully to eighteenth-century painters

• Modern context in mind with myths and biblical scenes

• Horattii: implication of self-sacrifice for the greater good. Exemplum virtitus

Characteristics of Neoclassical Painting

• Subtexts inviting the viewer to take measure of a person, a situation, and a state of affairs. Copley’s Samuel Adams: understanding of Adams’s likeness and character as it is a statement about the Boston Massacre.

• Symmetrical, with linear perspective leading the eye into a carefully constructed background

• Exemplary works were marked by invisible brushwork and clarity of detail

John Singleton Copley, Samuel Adams, 1770-1772, oil on canvas, Museum of Fine Arts Boston

•Portrait contains a forceful and direct gaze, engaging the spectator in a confrontation; focus on the head

•Figure up close to the picture plane

•Rich colors, concentration on reflective surfaces

•Meticulous handling of paint

•Adams pointing in an animated way at the Massachusetts charter; confronting the Massachusetts governor over the Boston Massacre; powerful gesture

Benjamin West, Death of General Wolfe, 1771,oil on canvas, National Gallery, Ottawa

•Scene depicting the Battle of Quebec in 1759

•An attempt to show the entire battle in the background of the painting; English boats unloading their cannon in early morning at extreme right;

Cannon put in place in center distance at mid-morning; battle at left with Quebec cathedral breaking through the smoke

• Very short battle, French in disarray and running from the battle scene

• French colors captured at left and brought to General Wolfe before his death

•Wolfe died of sniper shots to the wrist, groin, and side

•Wolfe died nearly alone, but in the painting he is surrounded by friends and admirers

•Wolfe’s unflattering looks, his cleft chin, his large protruding eyes, his small mouth, and his upturned nose are minimized in his upturned heavenward glance.•Compositional arrangement in thirds reflects

triptych, like compositions of the Renaissance; triangular units reflect High Renaissance paintings

•Religious associations of the victory; Protestantism over Catholicism

•Wolfe bathed in the pool of light; he is in the pose of Christ being taken from the cross.

•Wolfe’s pose also cf. Dying Gaul and Michelangelo’s Pieta’

•Native American sets the scene as the Americas and contemplates the consequences of Wolfe’s victory

•Great innovation in portraying Wolfe in contemporary costume rather than Roman robes.

Angelica Kauffmann, Cornelia Pointing to Her Children as Treasures, 1785, oil on canvas, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond

•Expemplum virtutis

•Story and setting is Roman, with figures before an Italianate background

•Cornelia, a noble woman, is shown jewelry by a visitor who asks to see Cornelia’s jewels

•Cornelia responds that her children are her jewels and presents her sons; interestingly, her daughter is not presented in this light

•A truly noble woman places her children above material possessions

Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784, oil on canvas, Louvre, Paris

•Exemplum virtutis

•Story of three roman brothers (the Horatii) who do battle with three other brothers (the Curiatii) from a nearby city; they pledge their fidelity to their father and Rome.

•One of the three women on right is a Horatii engaged to one of the Curiatii brothers; another woman is the sister of the Curiatii brothers.

•Forms are vigorous, powerful, animated, emphatic

•Gestures are sweeping and unified

•Figures pushed to the foreground

•Neoclassical drapery and tripartite composition

•Not Neoclassical in its Caravaggio-like lighting and un-Roman architectural capitals

•Painted under royal patronage

Jacques-Louis David, Death of Marat, 1793, oil on canvas, Royal Museum, Brussels

•Marat was a leader of the French Revolution, who was stabbed in his bathtub by Charlotte Corday, a more moderate revolutionary who denounced the killing of the king.

•Suffering from skin cancer, Marat took baths for hours to relieve the itch; he is not shown with the effects of cancer except for his turban soaked in vinegar, thought to have been a cure

•His desk is set up in the tube so he can do work; killed at the moment of issuing a letter of condolences

•Killed with a butcher knife with blood still on the handle.

•Pose is the Descent from the Cross, Michelangelo’s Pieta’

•Tombstonelike desk inscribed “To Marat, David, Year 2” reflecting the French Revolution’s reordering of the calendar

•Caravaggio-like lighting

Innovations of Neoclassical Sculpture

• Prior to Industrial Revolution bronze was expensive for sculpture, mass production enabled price to fall, while causing marble to become extremely expensive (hand mined).

• Because ancients used marble it was still the material of choice for sculpture, unpainted as was thought the ancients did not paint their sculpture.

• Pompeii artifacts influenced sculptors to work in classical mediums.

• Donation of the Parthenon pediment marbles (Elgin Marbles) to the British Museum influenced sculptors

Characteristics of Neoclassical Sculpture

• Deeply affected by classicism, was mindful of the realistic likeness of the sitter

• Also included figures posed realistically with contemporary drapery as well and ancient styles

• Classical allusions were secondary, still sculpture was carved from white marble with no paint added, neoclassicists felt ancients worked only in white marble.

Antonio Canova, Cupid and Psyche, 1787-1793, marble, Louvre, Paris

•Smooth, polished surfaces

•Classical nudes preferred, sensuality of the flesh

•Exploited marble’s sensitivity to chiaroscuro

•Said to have been inspired by a painting found at the Roman ruins of Herculaneum; Psyche has fainted after opening the vase that Venus commanded her not to open; revived by Cupid’s kiss.

•Adept handling of multiple views and negative space

Antonio Canova, Pauline Borghese as Venus, 1808, marble, Galleria Borghese, Rome

•Napoleon’s sister posed as Venus, possessing an apple, Venus’s attribute

•Pauline noted for her licentiousness

•Work does not intend to seduce; pose not realistic

•Very few people allowed to see the sculpture

•Very risque’ for the wife of the ruler of Rome

Test

1. The Death of General Wolfe was a groundbreaking work because

A. It was painted about a contemporary event

B. The figures were dressed in modern clothes

C. The figures were grouped symmetrically

D. The scene is historically accurate

2. The Coalbrookdale Bridge is important in the history of architecture because it

A. Is made of iron

B. Uses a suspension system

C. Is based on Roman models

D. Spans a wide river

3. Even though Jacques-Louis David is considered a Neoclassical artists, his artwork appears to be at least partly inspired by nonclassical artists like

A. Titian

B. El Greco

C. Caravaggio

D. Jean-Antoine Watteau

4. Neoclassical architects were strongly influenced by the work of

A. Christopher Wren

B. Andrea Palladio

C. Francesco Borromini

D. Antonio Canova

5. The Royal Crescent was built so that its residents could take advantage of

A. a Nearby villa

B. A spa

C. A palace

D. Living in a suburban environment

6. Neoclassicists assumed that

A. The ancients preferred to work in bronze

B. That ancient sculpture was painted

C. Pompeii was the center of ancient art

D. Sculpting in marble was continuing the tradition set in the ancient world

7. For Europeans, going on the grand tour meant visiting

A. Italy

B. Austria

C. Spain

D. Greece

8. Johann Winckelmann is important to art history because he

A. Unearthed the ruins at Pompeii

B. Assisted in the making of cast iron

C. Instructed Jefferson on how to build Monticello

D. Wrote the first art history book

9. Antonio Canova’s sculptures

A. Are rough to the touch

B. Exploit the sensuality of the flesh

C. Were never exhibited in his lifetime

D. Were carved by assistants

10. In Jacques-Louis David’s Death of Marat it is assumed that the viewer is aware of Michelangelo’s

A. David

B. Creation of Adam

C. Moses

D. Pieta’

Short Essay

The painting displayed was painted by Jacques-Louis David in the eighteenth century. What is the historical context of this work? How and why does David modify the historical reality behind the work to create a great work of art? Use one side of a sheet of lined paper to write your essay.