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‘Although many of the concepts of Neoclassicism were a continuation of earlier academic theories* – especially the admiration for antiquity & the emphasis laid on idealization – on the important question of Gothic & Quattrocento** art, the Neoclassicists diverged markedly from their predecessors. They made an important contribution to the reevaluation of Gothic & early Renaissance art.’

***

*s~

**(=1400s[ce], ie Early Renaissance)

***– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 25:] 360-361

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*‘Sentiment. Sentiment, of an essentially 18th-century kind, is found in many facial expressions & gestures of Neoclassical works. This sentiment is itself un-Classical and forms an important ingredient of the style, removing many works from the possible criticism of being pastiche.’

**

*R~

**– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 25:] 360

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[continued]

‘Horrific elements. Gestures and emotions in neoclassical works are usually restrained. In Bacchanalian scenes the gaeity is held in check, never bursting into exuberance. In a tragic scene, Andromache does not shed a tear as she mourns the death of Hector. The principal exception to this restraint is in the treatment of fantasy and terror. The Swiss-born English artist Henry Fuseli, who chose subjects from many aspects of Classical & post-classical history & literature, showed a continual predilection for elements of fantasy & horror characteristic of the English poet and illustrator William Blake and his circle.

‘The element of the supernatural was carried further by artists who did not draw a rigid line between classical and non-classical subject matter… The most widely known illustration of Dante's Divina Commedia were Flaxman's,* which included a particularly horrific image of the lower Hell called Dis. These illustrations were praised by the German Goethe for being both “spirited” & “calm”.**

***

*[See [Redbook10:6][19910512:1718f] {Neoclassical and Romantic Art [continued (6)]}[12th May 1991,] above]

**

(Is this what the

Gothic Arch symbolizes?)

[Hmm….]

***– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 25:] 360

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‘Although the Neoclassical artists and writers expressed contempt for what they regarded as the frivolous aspect of the Rococo, there is a strong influence of French Rococo on the early styles of some of the Neoclassical painters.’

*

*– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 25:] 360

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‘Classical antiquity was not the only source of Neoclassical art. The Neoclassicists also distilled their view of antiquity partly through the eyes of Raphael & Poussin. The paintings of these two artists often lie behind works of the 1760's & 1770's [ce],* in particular.’

**

*?64A~1760|u~J~}1768[ce]

**– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 25:] 360

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‘The principal large-scale decorative schemes of Neoclassicism are to be found in palaces together with secular buildings. The styles ranged from geometrically patterned walls* into which were inserted specially commissioned canvases, to large frescoes covering practically all the surfaces of ceilings and walls.’

**

*{c[ontra]?}

**– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 25:] 360

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[continued]

I suppose that as the time approaches C – during the Crisis Approach Phase – the degrees on inner and outer circles, respectively approaching each other, both attract and interact with each other. You could argue that in both these instances one may see romantic/revolutionary ideals already attracted on the way that leads once again around the outer circle.

It will be interesting to see whether this attraction and interaction continues.

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[continued]

‘Classical history and mythology provided a large, but not entire, part of the subject matter of Neo-classical works.’

****

‘Neo-classical art was hardly connected with contemporary politics, except in France, just before and during the Revolution, when parallels were drawn between the contemporary struggle for liberty & events in ancient Greece & Rome.

The parallels undoubtedly affected the art of David, who himself took part in the Revolution. His “Oath of the Horatii” (Louvre) was subsequently interpreted as foretelling revolutionary struggles, and the gestures of allegiance were re-enacted in 1794[ce] at a Republican demonstration organised by the artist together with Robespierre (see Plate 19).*

In the case of David's “Lictors bringing to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons” (1789[ce]: Louvre and Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, Connecticut), the death sentence passed on his own sons by Brutus was seen at the time as a noble example of the state's welfare taking precedence over a father's natural feelings.’**

****

Contrast: ‘Napoleon's mastery over his own fate & denial of accepted norms of behaviour captivated the Romantic generation….’*** (re: Romanticism)

#

*[Not reproduced in the ms or the ts]

**(Remember [th]at France is the exception [per 2^nd paragraph above])

***(– [[Redbook10:12][19910512:1718#] {Neoclassical and Romantic Art [continued (#)]}[23rd March 1991],] 12↓)

**** – ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 25:] 360

# – ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 25:] 362

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[continued]

‘Engravings to the second collection of Hamilton's * Vases by the German artist Johann Heinrich Tischbein were entirely in outline, as were plates in “Les Argonautes” (1794)** by a German painter, Asmus Jakob Carstens.

The most famous outline engravings, widely acclaimed at the time, were those of John Flaxman,*** who, in the 1790's [ce], published a large series of engravings to the Iliad & the Odyssey (1793[ce]). In the same decade he illustrated Aeschylus (1795[ce]) & Dante (before 1799[ce], possibly as early as 1793[ce]). Later he illustrated Hesiod (published 1817[ce]).’

****

*(1791-1795[ce])

**64C|2048s~R~1792[ce]

***[FLAxman was our local telephone exchange in Chelsea (when it was still a haunt of artists and other bohemian types), in the days of London dialling, preceding nationwide Subscriber Trunk Dialling which largely did away with memorable letter codes. I seem to recall as a child being told that he was a poet with a connection to Chelsea, neither of which appear to be true….]

****– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 25:359]

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[continued]

‘Simplicity* (which neither Winckelmann nor other writers precisely define) and linearity** are the principal characteristics of Neoclassical art. These two characteristics appear at their most extreme in the outline engravings published *** from the 1780's [ce] on. In 1785[ce] Volpato & Morghen published engravings of antique statues in outlines, with hardly any shading.

****

*{r~}R~-type Simplicity would not always be utterly calm

[Note that r~ was inserted here subsequently]

**S~

(but see [[Redbook10:10][19910512:1718#] {Neoclassical and Romantic Art [continued (#)]}[23rd March 1991],] 10↓)

***64s~R~1784[ce]

2048s~R~1792[ce]

****[– ibid (Encyclopaedia Britannica 25:359)]

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‘The emphasis on outline is one of the principal tenets in the writings of German scholar, Johann Joachim Winckelmann, who was the most important 18th-century [ce] theorist on the art of the ancients. He was a prominent figure in classical circles in Rome, where he was librarian to Cardinall Albani, one of the notable collectors of classical antiquities in 18th-century Italy.

In his “Gedanken über die Nachahmung der griechischen Werke” (1755[ce]; “Reflections on the imitation of Greek Works”) he identified the main characteristic of Greek art as idealization* and argued that the *** “last and most eminent characteristic of the Greek works is a noble simplicity**** & sedate grandeur # beneath the strife and passions in Greek figures”. Winckelmann developed this interpretation of ancient art at greater length in subsequent publications, most notably in his important “Geschichte der Kunst der Altertums” (1764[ce]; “History of Ancient Art”).

Winckelmann’s detailed, chronological classification & analysis#* was an important addition to the already existing body of literature on ancient art, which was either not as scientific or which grouped material according to subject matter & themes, not according to chronology.’

#**

*(cf formulaization at c[irca]M~-U~?)

**NB (cf VIII [])

***{(cf IX: [presumably, [Redbook9:214][19910430:1230d]{Renaissance Sculpture (and Classical Influence) [continued (4)]}[30th April 1991](/ant?),] 214)}

****{r~}R~

#s~?; M~+G~?

#*NB!

#**[– ibid (Encyclopaedia Britannica 25:359)]

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‘Linear Qualities. Classical sculptures were one of the main sources of Neoclassicism, with paintings – because they were fewer in number – playing a secondary role. These provided both subject-matter & poses. Sculptures, especially reliefs, contributed further to the development of Neoclassicism, namely the stylistic emphasis flat planes * and the concentration on linearity. Even complex outdoor subjects, such as that of “Agrippina with the Ashes of Germanicus” (1767[ce];** Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut) by an American-born English painter, Benjamin West, were composed with an emphasis on flat planes & outlines: large ships with great sails and the attendant crowd at the quayside all managed to be compressed into the narrow, *** shelf-like space of a frieze.’

****

*S~?

cf Primitive art

**64u~|J~1768[ce]

***S~

****– E[ncyclopaedia] B[ritannica] 25:359

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{Neoclassical Painting}

NEOCLASSICISM (1780-1850)*

‘The great surge of Neoclassicism in the mid-eighteenth century is partly a reaction against the Baroque & Rococo styles, but even more it is the result of new archaeological excavations and the published engravings of discoveries. In the very year after the Herculaneum fresco of the "Seller of the Cupids" was published as an engraving, the French painter Joseph-Marie Vien used it as the basis for a painting of the same subject (1762[ce]:** Fontainebleau).

***

*

2048s~|R~1792[ce]
64m~|G~1776||s~|R~1784[ce]

to

2048ssC~|RRC~1856[ce]
64C1856||s~R~1848[ce]

**64A~1760[ce]

***– E[ncyclopaedia] B[ritannica] 25:359

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