Neoclassicism (c. 1660 - 1790)
Defined by tensions and transitions, all included under
broader canopy of Neoclassical taste that held in high
regard classical Greek and Roman cultures as high
point of European civilization
Brunette Odalisque, by
François Boucher (1745)
Temple of Ancient Virtue, by
William Kent (1736); Stowe
Landscape Gardens,
Buckinghamshire
1. Culture
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painting and architecture look back to ancients and figures from Renaissance who
rediscovered art and culture of classical world (e.g., Andrea Palladio, Renaissance
architect)
principles such as good taste, decorum, symmetry, restraint, etc., are advocated in art and
literature of the period
painters, after approximately 1640, are more heavily focusing on motifs from GrecoRoman world, themes from classical epics such as achievement, glory, tragedy, military
success (e.g., Nicolas Poussin)
genre of “pastoral,” one of many rediscoveries of classical world, is re-emerging as
important in literature and painting of the time
satire also becoming important, since allows for comical look at principles of GrecoRoman world and of modern world (e.g., Alexander Pope’s Rape of the Lock)
serious French tragedies of earlier part of period (e.g., Corneille, Racine) eventually
eclipsed by lighter, more frivolous, comedic works of Rococo
2. Religion
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throughout the period there is gradual, increasing questioning of institutionalized religion
(e.g., Roman Catholic church in France), coupled with greater emphasis on sciences and
empirical inquiry (e.g., Bacon, Newton, Locke)
Jesuit Order is suppressed by middle of 18th cent. and Spanish Inquisition weakening in
influence across continent
Deism emerging as important understanding of religion; main features are use of reason
to establish existence of God, rejection of Holy Trinity and supernaturalism, emphasis on
free will and natural revelation, anti-clerical attitude, and limiting of God’s function to
creation (with world functioning according to natural laws)
Deism most influential in French and English thinking of the time (e.g., Voltaire,
Alexander Pope), although influence is felt further and later (e.g., Enlightenment,
American Revolution)
“mechanistic worldview” of Deism overlaps well with growing interest in sciences, and
French philosophes make use of connection
3. Nature
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understanding of nature in the period influenced by classical, pastoral genre (with
emphasis on Greco-Roman mythology in general sense; e.g., nymphs, shepherds)
Grand Tour (c. 1710 – 1790) to Paris, Rome, Naples, etc., emphasizes value of classical
culture and ruins in context of pastoral, south European scenery; gives rise to landscape
paintings if rural setting and veduta (view) paintings if urban setting
gardens around stately homes receiving greater attention and changing through the
period; as extensions of political power into natural world, they are ornate, symmetrical,
mathematical during aristocratic absolutism of 17th cent. (e.g., Louis XIV) and gradually
more playful, casual, intimate as 18th cent. unfolds (e.g., English “landscape garden”)
human body, as natural and a part of nature, treated in various ways during the period: as
attempt to modernize church during 17th cent. (e.g., religious art, Baroque sculpture) and
as pleasurable, visual diversion separate from greater concerns (e.g., Rococo nudes)
Neoclassical understanding of nature is that it is to be tamed, put to use, adapted within a
more urban and civilized setting
4. Idea
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late 17th and 18th cents. display several ideas under broader canopy of Neoclassical taste;
some of dominant ones include rationalism, Enlightenment (i.e., progress and
improvement of man’s condition), empirical thinking, Rococo escapism/utopia, and
academicism
one of main influences on entire period is perhaps philosopher Pierre Bayle (1647 1706), whose Historical and Critical Dictionary (c. 1695) was read for more than a
century and inspired the later Encyclopedists (e.g., Diderot) of mid-18th cent.
Bayle’s brand of philosophy comprehensive, entertaining counter-views, as he
distinguished between philosophy and legal discussion (e.g., a lawyer only arguing one
view)
his approach gradually resolves opposite views, seeking to overcome doubt rather than
generate it, and can be termed an “Academic skepticism” that does not deny knowledge
but rather preserves the “integrity of one’s power of judgement” (“Bayle”: Stanford)
such healthy skepticism influences work of many 18th-cent. thinkers, especially Voltaire
Links
“Pierre Bayle”: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/bayle/
“Enlightenment”: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/
François Boucher, Rococo Painter: YouTube
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp7Dop66nTE