THE NEO-CLASSICAL ARTS

HOW DID THE NEO-CLASSICAL MOVEMENT IN

ARTS COME ABOUT?
Many artists during the mid-17
th
century,
like the Frenchmen, profited much from
the nobles and royals.
They did this by appealing to the
extravagance and ornate lifestyles of the
rich.
Many artists cater to the caprices and
vanities to promote the royal lifestyles by
means of the visual arts.







WHAT IS NEO-CLASSICAL ART?
NATURAL REALISM became the trend
during this period to portray the magnificence
of the national character of the people and
their leaders.
Artists were inspired by the Graeco-Roman
history and myths which deal with human
characters around this theme.
Artists looked back to the old glory of Greece
and the grandeur of Rome.
FAMOUS ARTISTS DURING THE NEO-
CLASSICAL PERIOD
JACQUES-LOUIS DAVID
(1748-1825): FRENCH
Although born to illustrious parents,
David preferred to work more with the
militant intellectuals who were to
overthrow the French monarchial
system. His solid proper training in art
and literature made him the prime
propagandist of the revolutionaries. He
portrayed the grandeur of characters of
the ancient Greek and Romans
protecting the affairs of their particular
state.
His weakness of not being a good
speaker made him more expressive in
painting. Human characters and
virtuous actions are powerfully
conveyed. His subjects seem to bulge
out from his canvas; thus, they appear
realistic.

Fascinated and inspired by the past cultures of
the Romans and the Greeks, David used his
knowledge of the classical culture to advance
his political views against the monarchy. His
subjects are his ideal heroes whom he wanted
to be emulated by his countrymen. The lines
and forms of his genre are juxtapostition of
vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines to
convey the THEATRICAL ELEMENT.
In The Oath of the Horatii, the patriotic three
sons on the left firmly saluted in the gesture of
a gladiator who is ready to die. Likewise, the
gesture of old philosopher Socrates strongly
pointed upward appeared very firmed to his
belief even in the face of death. The use of
chiascuro (the play of light and dark) is subtly
washed to emphasize the mood of courage,
patriotism, and brotherhood. The space is put
in almost as balance as to colors and shapes.
His central figure is always a man, who
dominates the whole scene.
JEAN AUGUSTE DOMINIQUE
INGRES
(1780- 1867): FRENCH
Unlike his teacher David , Ingres, was not involved in the
Revolution. But he admired the post-revolution
governance of the Emperor Napoleon and the imposing
personality of the leader himself. As an innate gifted
artist, Ingres was granted scholarship with art studies in
Rome, and thereafter appointed as President f Ecole des
Beaux Art (the most prestigious University in France).
Being religious since childhood, he wanted to combine
religion, history, and Greek mythology as motif of almost
all of his masterpieces.
Ingres is a master of using neutral earth colors to depict
the antiquity and nostalgic mood of the remote past.
But he is very rigorous when it comes to portraying the
elite women of his time. He appreciated educated,
cultured, and imposing women who are subjects of his
works
The content (mood, character, and idea) of his paintings
are well combined with excellent color as and direction of
lines

Ingres loved to portray ancient
history, using Greek mythology
as motif. The gesture that
reflected the Roman and Greek
idea of courage, nobility, and
righteousness dominate Ingres
paintings. As he is too
obsessed with Greek
mythology and religion, he
painted objects in solid and
weighty form to convey
strength and used smooth
texture to express elegance.
FAMOUS ARTISTS DURING THE ROMAN
PERIOD
FRANCISCO JOSE DE GOYA Y LUCIENTES
(1746-1828): SPANISH
Studied under the vituoso of art teacher Luzan in Saragoza during
his childhood, Goya furthered his art studies in Rome where he
honed his loose-brushstrokes style copying from Renaissance
masters. Upon his return to his beloved country, he worked as
portraitist of the nobles, and shortly after, was appointed official
painter of the Royal Court of King Charles IV
In his midlife, he became deaf due to unknown malady. Though
his sickness had made him learned to polish his paintings more.
But this time, he became more aloft and extremely critical of the
social and political events, especially the French temporary
annexation of Spain.
His disposition turned to be darker than usual, and he appeared to
be pessimistic. He dared to paint paranormal phenomena of ghosts
and witches. Nevertheless, his ability to read human character and
translate the same to the canvas is incredible an ability he
sharpened until his death in 1828.
His ability to use colors to reveal the characters of his subjects
and to handle the gradation of their values is unusual. The
gradation between black and purple side by side with red in his
works tend to project the bizarre and appalling atmosphere of his
paintings. Yet, he succeeded to express beauty amidst darkness.

In The Third of May, he expressed
his emotions of disgust in humanity
by painting an image of a bloodbath
perpetrated by French soldiers on his
beloved countrymen. The colors
suggest sheer horror and cold
carnage. The spectacle of the bizarre
is the theme of most of his genres.
This is also shown in his famous
masterpiece Isabel, though amidst
images of dignity and elegance
The direction of diagonal, vertical,
and horizontal lines jibes well with the
colors and perspective in imparting a
horrible scene. The mastery of such
strokes is his tool in painting the
paranormal, witches, lunatic, and
depressed.