The Classical Period
1750-1800
Influences in Art
• As the Rococo marked the end of an era of opulence and excess;
Neoclassicism marked a return to rational principles
• Attention once again shifted to the classic ideals of the Greeks and
Romans
• The French Academy (founded in the 17th) century, was regarded as
the guardian and purifier of French intellectual life
– Controlled art and education
– Set “official” standards of taste and style
– Protested against the superficial elegance of the Rococo and
sponsored a return to classic ideals based on Greek and Roman
models
– The movement gained momentum at the time of the Revolution, as
the public denounced anything representative of the French
aristocracy
Style
• Expressed classic ideals using models from
Greece, Rome and the Italian Renaissance
• Encouraged forms that were realistic and
stripped of sentimentality
• Art became a symbol of detachment from
superficial feeling
Interior of the Pantheon,
Giovanni Paolo Panini (cp 11)
• Uses classic subject, the Pantheon in Rome
• Humans are presented as inconsequential
figures; focus is on the classic features of the
Pantheon
• Dramatic linear perspective
• Beam of light created by the opening in the
dome (oculum)
Oath of the Horatii
Jaques Louis David
• David was the leader of the Neoclassical movement in France. He visited
Greece and Rome, returning with enthusiasm for the ancient cultures
• Oath of the Horatii was painted four years before the French Revolution
• Subject is a Roman father pledging his three sons to fight against the
enemies of Rome
– Reflects an admiration for the virtue of fighting for liberty
• Style and forms reflect Renaissance classicism
– Lines are sharply defined, severe and angular—convey great strength
– Separate groups make up the whole
• Three sons, father, weeping women
– Swords are the focal point and placed exactly in the center
– Each group framed against Roman arches set on Greek columns
– Little expressive feeling, despite the subject matter
Napoleon Crossing the
Saint Bernard, Jacques
Louis David
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David was an admirer of
Napoleon; likewise Napoleon held
David in high esteem
Napoleon commissioned David to
commemorate his crossing of the
Alps, which allowed the French to
surprise the Austrian army and win
the Battle of Marengo
Napoleon had really crossed the
Alps on a mule, but requested to
be portrayed “calm on a fiery
steed”
After being named emperor of
France in 1804, Napoleon named
David the official court painter of
his regime
Death of Marat, Jacques
Louis David
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Marat was a political leader,
responsible for many events of the
Revolution
He was killed by Charlotte Corday,
who entered under the false
pretense of giving him a list of
anti-Revolutionaries. When he
accepted her list and thanked her,
she stabbed him
Shown in a bathtub, as he had a
skin condition that caused him to
itch horribly. He spend a lot of
time in the bathtub, as it was his
only form of relief
David organized a spectacular
funeral and Marat was buried in
the Pantheon
Immortalized Marat as a martyr of
the revolution
Portrait of a Young Woman, called Mlle.
Charlotte duVal d’Ognes
(cp 45)
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Mistakenly attributed to David for many years
Artist is Constance Marie Charpentier
Realistic in its details
Sharp lines reflect a style very different from
Baroque and Rococo
• Lack of detail in the room draws attention to
Mlle. Val d’Ognes—details of her face, hair,
clothing
Death of General Wolfe (cp 47)
• Benjamin West
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Began training in Philadelphie, but studie in Italy and settled in England
Close friend of King George III
Teacher of many American painters
Often painted historical subjects
• Portrays the death of General Wolfe at the siege of Quebec during the
French and Indian War
• Characters in contemporary dress, but in classical poses and arrangemet
• Inclusion of the Indian coneects the event to the New World
• Figures arranged in groups, drawing the eye toward the dead general in
the center
• Lighting also focuses attention toward general
• Burning city in the background contrasted with darkness on the right
Antonio Canova
• Used similar forms to classic Greek and Roman
sculpture
• Pauline Borghese as Venus (p. 226)
– Commissioned by Pauline Borghese (Napoleon’s
sister)
– Appears to resemble classic form, but does not
portray the Greek ideal of beauty
Cupid and Psyche
Napoleon as Mars the
Peacemaker
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Presents Napoleon as idealized
Greek form
Closed form
Holds Nike in his right hand –
represents victory
Completed in 1806, when it was
sent to the Musee Napoleon
Napoleon refused the sculpture,
stating that it was “too athletic”