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The English Neoclassical movement: a group of attitudes toward art and human existence

Neoclassic Art & Philosophy. The English Neoclassical movement: a group of attitudes toward art and human existence Informed the later American Neoclassical Movement (which we are about to study) ideals of order, logic, restraint, accuracy, "correctness," "restraint," decorum

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The English Neoclassical movement: a group of attitudes toward art and human existence

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  1. Neoclassic Art & Philosophy • The English Neoclassical movement: a group of attitudes toward art and human existence • Informed the later American Neoclassical Movement (which we are about to study) • ideals of order, logic, restraint, accuracy, "correctness," "restraint," decorum • Attempt to imitate the structures and themes of Greek or Roman “classic” originals • dominated English literature from 1660- end of 1700s • ended with publication of Lyrical Ballads (1798) by Wordsworth and Coleridge which marked the full emergence of Romanticism (which we will study next!).

  2. Basic Themes • Age of Reason: • The place of man in society is a key theme (unlike Puritan predecessors) • Reason and order are valued, passion and emotion devalued • Man is powerful and can achieve order and contentment • a. wit • b. classical models (Greek/Roman) • c. form & structure

  3. Neo-whatical? • The period is called neoclassical because • its writers looked back to the ideals and art forms of classical times, emphasizing even more than their Renaissance predecessors the classical ideals of order and rational control. • political and social affairs: they were guided by the wisdom of the past: traditional institutions had, at least, survived the test of time. • share our modern assumption that change means progress, • human nature is imperfect, human achievements are necessarily limited, and therefore human aims should be sensibly limited as well. • It was better to set a moderate goal, whether in art or society, and achieve it well, than to strive for an infinite ideal and fail.

  4. Control Yourself! • LANGUAGE IS clear and simple • Writers turned from inventing new words to regularizing vocabulary and grammar. • Complex, boldly metaphorical language (think Shakespeare) is clarified and simplified • using fewer and more conventional figures of speech. • Mystery and obscurity are considered symptoms of incompetence rather than signs of grandeur. • REASON • Both religious belief and morality were grounded on reason: revelation and grace were de-emphasized • morality consisted of acting rightly to one's fellow beings on this earth.

  5. Let’s Be Reasonable… • REFLECTED in ART of the time • Neoclassic thinkers believed reason guided human individuals and society, • Also believed reason should direct artistic creation. • Neoclassical art --not meant to seem a spontaneous outpouring of emotion or imagination. • Emotion is consciously controlled • Note contrast between European Neoclassical paintings and American Neoclassical paintings in following slides. • Can you tell which are American and which are European?

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