Neoclassicism (mid 18 th to early 19 th century)

1. Neoclassicism (mid 18th to early 19th century) • Grand Tour (mid-18th century until French invasion of Italy in 1796) • visit of Northern Europeans to Italy and Rome to complete a gentleman’s education and acquire taste • Rome becomes cosmopolitan meeting ground and center for artistic study and exchange of ideas • Contrast between ancient Rome and contemporary Italy • Inglese italianato, diavolo incarnato • Possessing the Mediterranean. Rise of archeology: • Society of Dilettanti in 1732; Discovery of Herculaneum in 1738 and Pompeii in 1748; excavations and exportation of ancient artifacts • Establishment of Pio-Clementine Museum in 1770 (Popes Clement XIV and Pius VI, 1775-99)

5. Pier Leone Ghezzi, “Dr. James Hay as Bear Leader, 1725

7. Spanish Steps [Scalinata di Trinita’ dei Monti, Francesco De Sanctis, 1721-1725

10. Trevi Fountain, Niccolo’ Salvi, 1732-62,

15. Anton von Maron, Portrait of Two Gentlemen Before the Arch of Constantine, 1767

16. Pompeo Batoni, Sir Gregory Page Taylor, 1768

17. Pompeo Batoni, Colonel William Gordon, 1766

18. Johann H. W. Tischbein, Goethe in the Campagna, 1786-87

19. Giovanni Paolo Panini, “Views of Ancient Rome,” 1757

20. Giovanni Paolo Panini, “Views of Modern Rome,” 1765

21. Giovanni Paolo Panini, Veduta ideata

22. Panini, Veduta Ideata

23. Pio-Clementine Museum, established 1770

24. Benigne Gagneraux, Pius VI accompanying Gustav III of Sweden, 1786

25. Sir Joshua Reynolds, Parody of the School of Athens, 1751

26. Neoclassicism (mid 18th to early 19th century) • Reaction against Baroque and Rococo art • Revival and adaptation of classical taste and style but with criteria somewhat different from those of the Renaissance • Secular (aesthetic experience vs. religious revelation) • systematic analysis and periodization • Style of the Enlightenment / French Revolution • --true style, timeless style for timeless truths • --imitation (but not copying) of ancient art • --idealized (rational) beauty; classical art reveals nature’s truest and highest intentions • --qualities: rational, universal, geometrical, moral, stoic • --historical (vs. mythological) classicism is a favorite subject

27. Neoclassicism (mid 18th to early 19th century) Greco-Roman Debate Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768) Greek art:noble simplicity and quiet grandeur Greek art is living art (“the rules of Greek art became the rules of art”) Roman art is only derivative Climate: perfection and beauty of Greek art is reflection of physical perfection and beauty of ancient Greeks and moral perfection of their form of government

33. Neoclassicism (mid 18th to early 19th century) Greco-Roman Debate Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768) --Greek art:noble simplicity and quiet grandeur --Greek art is living art (“the rules of Greek art became the rules of art”) --Climate: perfection and beauty of Greek art is reflection of perfection and beauty of ancient Greeks Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) --creative complexity of Roman architecture is superior to primitive purity of Greek art 1761, Della magnificenza ed architettura dei Romani --Reinterpretation of Roman ruins from sic transit (thus passes away) to gloria mundi (glory of the world) motif --magnificence, massive scale, eclectic complexity and invention

42. Antonio Canova (1757-1822) • Venetian, comes to Rome in 1779 and converts from Rococo to Neoclassicism • 1805: appointed inspector general of fine arts and antiquities in Papal State • Artist of Napoleon and his family members

43. Antonio Canova 1767-1822