Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism is a Western movement in visual arts, theater, music and architecture that draw from classical art and culture of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Neoclassicism arose partly out as a reaction against the sensuous and frivolous Rococo style that dominated European art from the 1720s until the mid-19th century.

		An example of Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism was also inspired by new archaeological discoveries in Rome such as the ancient cities of Heculaneum and Pompeii. And during the second decade of the 18th century, a number of publications were released which provided engraved views of Roman monuments inspired a new interest in the classical sites and culture of ancient times. The earliest Neoclassical painters were Joseph Marie Vien, Anton Raphael Mengs, Pompeo Batoni, Angelica Kauffmann and Gavin Hamilton, and they were active between the 1750s and early 1800s.

Classical history and mythology provided a large part of the subject matter of Neoclassical works, and the poetry of Homer, Vigil and Plutarch served as inspiration for Neoclassic artists. For the most part Neoclassic architecture was defined by the use of architectural elements from Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece and these themes included simplicity, purity, solid structures of columns and colonnades, and unemotional tones. Symmetry and balance characterized Neoclassicist architecture as these were important aspects of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.

As for literature during the Neoclassicism era, writers drew from ancient Rome and Greece just like the artists and architects of this period. In Neoclassical literature there were three ages. In the Restoration Age writers focused on the serious development of the novel and comedies about the aristocracy while in the Augustan Age writers introduced poetry of personal exploration, melodramas, satire and the serious development of the novel. Finally, the Age of Sensibility was the transition from Neoclassicism to Romanticism. Other characteristics of neoclassicist literature are sophisticated sexual behavior, honor that comes from reputation, a polite and cosmopolitan style and restraint in personal expression. Well-known neoclassicist authors include Jane Austen, John Bunyan, Alexander Pope and John Milton.

Neoclassicism in music primarily occurred in the 20th century when composers wanted to return to aesthetic precepts associated with aspects of classicism such as order, balance, clarity and emotional restraint. This was a reaction against the unrestrained emotionalism of late romanticism. Neoclassicist composers also emphasized rhythm and tonal harmony. Some notable composers in the neoclassical style of music include David Diamond, Cecil Effinger, Irving Fine, Jean Francaix, Pierre Gabaye, Camargo Guanieri, Arthur Honegger, Heitor Villa Lobos, Ernest Krenek, George Lloyd, Albert Roussel, Nadia Boulanger, Igor Sravinsky, Edvard Grieg and Paul Bekker.

It should also be noted that some jazz music also had neoclassical influences and some of the main jazz musicians that could fall in this category include George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and Glenn Miller. This was especially true with the big bands of the 1930s and 1940s, which were characterized by order, a sense of sophistication, harmony and structure in rhythm. Overall, neoclassicism in music focused heavily on order and structure as well as heavy orchestration.