5. Retell the text according to the plan:

1. English Baroque.

2. Spanish Baroque.

3. French Baroque.

4. Rococo.

Unit 8

Neoclassicism

Before you read

1. Discuss the following questions:

• How do you understand the term «Neoclassicism»?

• What is the difference between Classicism and Neoclassicism?

• What other styles of the 19^th century do you know?

• What American artists do you know?

• Who are the most prolific artists of that period?

2. Look at the chart and make up your own sentences to describe the period of Neoclassicism. Give the examples of artists and their paintings.

NEOCLASSICISM		EXAMPLE
VALUES: TONE: SUBJECTS: TECHNIQUE: ROLE OF ART:	Order, solemnity. Calm, rational. Greek and Roman history, mythology. Stressed drawing with lines, not color; no trace of brushstrokes. Morally uplifting, inspirational.

3. Read and translate the text. Neoclassicism

Neoclassic period lasted from about 1780 to 1820. This revival of Classicism in painting, sculpture, architecture, and furniture was a clear reaction against the ornate Rococo style.

T he eighteenth century had been the Age of Enlightenment, when philosophers preached the gospel of reason and logic. «Politically correct» art was serious, illustrating tales from ancient history or mythology rather than frivolous Rococo party scenes. As if society had overdosed on sweets, principle replaced pleasure and paintings underscored the moral message of patriotism. Leaders of art schools and of the French and British Royal Academies were solidly behind the Neoclassic movement and preached that reason, not emotion, should dictate art. They emphasized drawing and line, which appealed to the intellect, rather than color, which excited the senses.

The hallmark of the Neoclassical style was severe, precisely drawn figures, which appeared in the foreground without the illusion of depth, as in Roman relief sculpture. Brushwork was smooth, so the surface of the painting seemed polished, and compositions were simple to avoid Rococo melodrama. Backgrounds generally included Roman touches like arches or columns, and symmetry and straight lines replaced irregular curves. This movement differed from Poussin's Classicism of a century–earlier in that Neoclassical figures were less waxen and ballet–like, more naturalistic and solid.

David. It was on a trip to Rome, when he first saw Classical art, that David had his breakthrough vision. In «Oath of the Horatii», three brothers swear to defeat their enemies or die for Rome, illustrating the new mood of self-sacrifice instead of self-indulgence. Just as the French Revolution overthrew the decadent royals, this painting marked a new age of stoicism. David demonstrated the difference between old and new through contrasting the men's straight, rigid contours with the curved, soft shapes of the women. Even the painting's composition underscored its firm resolve.

Ingres. Following David, the first half of nineteenth century art was a contest between two French painters: Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, champion of Neoclassicism, and Eugene Delacroix, defender of Romanticism. Ingres came naturally to Neoclassicism, for he was the star pupil of David. In his early work, he took Greek vase paintings as his model and drew flat, linear figures that critics condemned as «primitive» and «Gothic». In ,Portrait of the Princesse de Broglie», he paid his usual fastidious attention to crisp drapery, soft ribbons, fine hair, and delicate flesh, without a trace of brushwork. The color has an enamellike polish and the folds of the costume fall in precise, linear rhythm. Ingres is chiefly remembered as one of the supreme portraitists of all time, able to capture physical appearance with photographic accuracy.