History

Art History

Neoclassicism; Characteristics and Social Conditions 180

A style of Neoclassicism started in 18th century. It was developed all the way through the 19th century; although some of the countries did not have its influence but on the other hand it was specifically very significant in the arts of northern Europe and France. This particular style was created due to un-satisfaction of existing art designs and culture among the European writers and artists. Somehow it was a feeling as if a reexamination of artistic culture may generate again with the acceptance of standards. Thus, the movement of revival became the image of ancient.

During those days, Neoclassicism was so famous that it inspired textiles, furniture, ceramics and designs, this was not it, it also influenced the sculptors, painters and architects. However, anyone can easily distinguish the work of craftsmen or artists of this era due to the piece of art that they made usually displayed a connection of common construction. For the designers of Neo classical it was significant that they keep the colors and other work in simple form so complexities can be avoided. This significance was implemented not only in sculpture and painting but also to architecture. These forms of art became austere and geometrical, refusing the dazzling colors and the movement of earlier Baroque and Rococo styles (Eitner, 1970).

The compassion in past art differentiated Neoclassicism from conservative philosophies of the classical revival. The later part was more depended on traditional styles that were derive from ideas of beauty and decorum created by High Renaissance artists, for example Raphael (1483-1520) and Michelangelo (1475-1564). Neoclassicism did not reject these accepted ideals but the movement was concerned to produce accurate reconstructions of antique works of art (Eitner, 1970). This does not imply that the Neoclassical artist was a conscious plagiarist, but he was bound by strict rules. For example, if an artist painted a Roman soldier, he was obliged to make the armor and weapons historically correct; if he illustrated a scene from Homer's Iliad, he would keep exactly to the text. Some artists, John Flaxman (1755-1826) for example, even taught themselves to read Greek for illustrating Greek words and attempted to produce artificially "primitive" illustrations that approximated to 18th-century notions of painting at the time of Homer. The same kind of demand influenced the designs of everyday objects and fashions: by 1800 chairs, beds, clothes, and even ladies' hairstyles were fashionably "Greek", that is, they were based on the objects and descriptions recently discovered by archaeologists.

Romanticism; Characteristics and Social Conditions

Romanticism was the principal movement involving all the arts that flourished in Europe in the first half of the 19th century. It gained its epithet because the movement was understood to stand for an emotive and intuitive outlook, as against the controlled and rational approach that was designated "classical". While modern opinions differ as to the meaning of Romantic, the history of the term's usage is clear. Because Romanticism was essentially a matter of outlook, we can hardly talk of it in ...