In our society, an obsession with the human body is commonly interpreted to signify a perversion. To neoclassical painters, such a cynical view is understandable. Not because the person himself (let us be honest about the popularly accused gender) is perverted per se, but because etiquette and morality has trumped understanding and reason. This signifies a different sort of societal perversion; a different sort of decadence. Neoclassical painters explicitly created their works to reverse this decadence, to return to the days when proper virtue and culture reigned supreme. The classical Greek and Roman civilizations, for example, affirmed their existence and embodied all that was good and possible for humanity. Society has often gone astray from this ideal, but painting was capable of helping restore and immortalize perfection. Neoclassical painters built neoclassicism on this possibility to restore perfection. Among the most prominent figures in this neoclassical movement was Jean-August Dominique Ingres. Continue reading to THE ARTICLE »
The vision of Joseph Marie Vien had for his paintings were to resurrect a classical style of art that had been led astray. Born in France in 1748 during a time when revolutionary sentiments began cooking, Joseph Marie Vien became a revolutionary in his own form. He began a movement through his neoclassical style. Whereas the paintings of his day concerned themselves more with frivolity and design, Joseph Marie Vien concerned himself with returning to the ideals of classical Greek and Roman antiquity. His style was minimalist in shapes and design, but his goal, as an artist, was for the thematic weight of his pieces to carry its weight. Continue reading to THE ARTICLE »
Sergei Prokofiev was one of the greatest neoclassical music composers of the 20th century. He mastered several musical genres as a Russian pianist, conductor and composer and well known for his neoclassical style. Important works of Sergei Prokofiev include but are not limited to: Toccata in D minor, Piano Sonata no. 2 in D minor, Piano Concert No. 2 in D minor, Sarcasms, Op. 17 for piano, Chout, Op. 21 ballet in six scenes, Visions Fugitives Op. 22 set of twenty piano pieces, The Love for Three Oranges, Op. 33 opera in four acts, includes the famous Martch from the Love for Three Oranges, Symphony No. 1 in D Major Classical, The Fiery Angel, Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, The Prodigal Son, Four Portraits from “The Gambler”, String Quartet No. 1 in B Minor, Symphonic Song, Romeo and Juliet ballet, Peter and the Wolf, Alexander Nevsky, Violin Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, and three so-called War Sonatas; Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major; Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major; and Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major. His Symphony No. 1 has been one of the major works of Neoclassical music. When he wrote Romeo and Juliet ballet as an experienced composer, Continue reading to THE ARTICLE »
Home, Sweet, Home: A Look at Houses in Neoclassical Style
Neoclassical architecture, at its core, was an attempt to revive what architects interpreted to be a glory period for their field of specialization. It was a reaction to increased disenchantment with the popular architectural movements of their era that focused on excessive design and status, far removed from the simple and more imposing structures of bygone eras. Ironically, when one reviews the classical Greek and Roman architecture, such as the Parthenon or the Colosseum, that neoclassicism built itself on to imitate, one realizes that neoclassical designs still carried an aura of elitism that it sought to reject by the baroque and rococo architectural movement.
Specifically, the neoclassical style evident in cathedrals, arenas, or museums, for example, still served a function as a centerpiece for the purpose that it served and in the area in where it was built. That is structures of lesser significance in classical Greece and Rome have long decayed, whereas Continue reading to THE ARTICLE »
It is woven and conditioned into our imaginations that “different” is synonymous with the “new.” To be unique requires no precedent. The field of architecture is no different in that respect – architectural movements and schools have continuously evolved, changed, and been invented because architects prefer to leave their mark and remove themselves from the mundane. That is precisely why neoclassical architecture stands in stark counterpoint. As the name of it suggests, it embraces the tried; the true; the old. The neoclassical style of architecture was conceived as a direct response to its disenchantment with the “new”, particularly Rococo and Baroque architecture that enjoyed popularity in the early 18th century when the neoclassical period began to gather its momentum.
The Rococo movement focused particular attention to the interior design of buildings and developed in France in the early 18th century. The Rococo style sought to display individual rooms as art itself, and consequently paintings were prevalent and furniture was intentionally highlighted as its own lavish form of art. As one would expect, Continue reading to THE ARTICLE »
