Jury Assignment

NEOCLASSICISM &
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ROMANTICISM MOVEMENT
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Muskan Mohanta | Fashion Technology'25

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fig. 1

Neoclassicism is the 18th and 19th century movement that

developed in Europe as a reaction to the excesses of Baroque and
Rococo. The movement sought to return to the classical beauty
and magnificence of the Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.
Neoclassical art is based on simplicity and symmetry and takes its
inspiration from the German art historian Johann Joachim
Winckelmann who believed that art should aim at the ideal forms
and beauty of Greek art. As he wrote:
“The one way for us to become great, perhaps inimitable, is by
fig. 2
imitating the ancients.”

Whereas Romantic artists sought to paint the cruelty and vitality

of action, neoclassical painters wanted to depict the beauty and
the harmony of a subject. They combine an idealistic style, using
perspective with drama and forcefulness according to
Winckelmann's definition of the movement as "noble simplicity
and calm grandeur". Neoclassical works, therefore, are serious,
unemotional and heroic. Restraint and simplicity, along with
precise depiction and close congruence of clear form and noble
content, are the main characteristics of Neoclassicism.

(Fig.1)
Grande Odalisque by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
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Leonidas at Thermopylae by Jacques-Louis David
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The spread of Romanticism throughout Europe and even the

United States was rapid towards the late 18th century.
Romanticism challenged the rational ideals so loved by artists of
the Enlightenment. Romantic artists believed that emotions and
senses were equally as important as order and reason for
experiencing and understanding the world.

Following the French Revolution, the enduring search for individual

Fig.4
liberty and rights fueled the Romantic celebration of intuition and
imagination. The Romantic ideas of the subjectively creative powers
of the artist continued to fuel Avante-Garde movements into the
20th century. Romantic artists reacting against the somber
Neoclassical style found their expression through music, literature,
architecture, and visual art. The Romantic movement encompasses a
variety of styles because it valued imagination, inspiration, and
originality. Personal connections to nature and an idealized past
were a significant theme for many Romantic artists attempting to
hold back the waves of industrialism.

(Fig.3)
Coalbrookdale by night, painting by Philip James de Loutherbourg

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(Fig.4)
Evening: landscape with an aqueduct by Théodore Gericault French
 COMPARITIVE STUDY OF
NEOCLASSICISM AND ROMANTICISM
DIFFERENCES
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 INSPIRATION
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Fig.5 Fig.6

Jacques-Louis David, "Oath of the Horatii" "The Nightmare" by Henry Fuseli

Neoclassicism draws its inspiration from the classical Romanticism was inspired by the Medieval , Middle
art and culture of ancient Rome and Greece. and Far East,Industrial revolution and the
Enlightenment.
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 COMPOSITION
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Fig.7 Fig.8

Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi, Pointing to her Children as Her Tepidarium, Théodore Chassériau, 1853,
Treasures by Angelica Kauffman

In Neoclassicism most of the figures were In Romanticism there was use of diagonal,
in foreground. crowded compositions.

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 TECHNIQUE
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Virgil Reading to Augustus by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1812) Francisco de Goya, “The Third of May, 1808′

Neoclassical painting is characterized by the use of straight lines,
a smooth paint surface, the depiction of light, a minimal use of
color, and the clear, crisp definition of forms
In Romanticism use of small, close strokes of complementary colors
to create brilliance and vivid visual effect Unrefined outlines,
unrestrained brushstrokes, and the emphasis on color over form
makes the painterly style the choice of the Romantics. This style
also includes visible brushstrokes,

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 Logic and Reason vs Emotions
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Nicolas Poussin, Et in Arcadia Ego,

Neoclassicism gave importance to logic and reason.The Neoclassicists wanted

to express a rationality and seriousness that was fitting for their times.

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 Romanticism had a general exaltation of emotion over reason and of the senses
over intellect; a turning in upon the self and a heightened examination of human
personality and its moods and mental potentialities

The Death of Germanicus, painting by Nicolas Poussin

Monk Talking to an old woman

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Neoclassicism

Claude Lorrain's A landscape with Apollo guarding the herds of

Admetus and Mercury stealing them (1645), depicts a scene from Greek
mythology with contemporary details, as Apollo is playing a violin and
Mercury resembles an ordinary villager, thus bringing the classical past
and present reality into one serene vision.

Nicolas Poussin's The Death of Germanicus (1627) depicted the

death and suspected assassination of the popular Roman general as
recorded by the Roman historian Tacitus.

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Romanticism

Ugolino and his Sons is a sculpture by Carpeaux that embodies the raw emotion that
was expressed in art during the Romanticism movement. This sculpture is inspired by
the story of Dante's Inferno. The main subject in the sculpture is contemplating
cannibalism at this very moment. The overwhelming worry and desperation is seen in
Ugolino's face, and the internal struggle between survival and starvation can be seen.
The physical and emotional pain that Ugolino is going through can be related to by a
viewer who has a difficult decision to make and can relate to the tough decision that
needs to be made.

Francico Jose De Goya y Lucientes’s “Monk Talking to an Old Woman” is a shocking

painting at first glance. The emotion expressed in the woman’s face is used by Goya to
show the struggle she is in. Its possible that the monk is telling her something to cause
the woman’s panic, or that he is attempting to calm her down. The expression on the
monk’s face is panic himself, but it looks to me like he is trying to calm the woman in a
panicked situation. The emotion shown by the subject is another example of the
reoccurring theme of conveying subject’s emotion in art during the Romantic period.

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 John William Waterhouse’s “The Lady of Shalott” uses dark
contrast and facial expression to express an emotion of
isolation and despair. The painting is oil on canvas, and
approximately 150x200 CM. The woman is presented as the
main subject of the piece as a very bright figure on a very
dark, dull background. She is dressed in a very nice gown
and sitting on a nice blanket, but she is floating on an old
boat in a river, making the viewer wonder why she is
dressed so well. Her face has an expression of despair, and
makes me think she is trying to escape from something or
someone by going out on this boat. Her emotion expressed
is another example of the widespread use of emotion in the
Romantic period.

Eugene Delacroix’s “Horse Frightened by Lightening” is a very

strange looking painting at first glance, but it can be very thought
provoking. Although all the pieces so far I have used as examples
of emotion in the Romantic period have been people, Delacroix
manages to expression emotion in an animal. The fear, and shock
that the horse in the painting is experiencing is a similar
expression that humans have. The strange bending of the horses’
limbs and the rearing of its head show the surprise. Delacroix
uses a very strong light and dark contrast between the horse and
the background, which really adds to the feeling of surprise that
the horse is showing.

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 Society vs Nature
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Neoclassicism examined the society. Romanticism examined the nature.

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SIMILARITIES
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 Both tend to utilize representational and/or narrative composition, and in
their era they had been effectively used to promote political

Théodore Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa of 1821 remains the greatest
achievement of the Romantic history painting, which in its day had a
powerful anti-government message.It drew fire from French critics over the
political implications and ambiguity of whether the men on the raft were to
be rescued or not. Critics thought it too gruesome, too realistic. In fact,
Géricault had molded the figures from real life corpses.

The Raft of the Medusa by Jean Louis Theodore Gericault, 1818–21: This painting is regarded as one of the greatest
Romantic era paintings.

Here, Theseus and his companion the Lapith Pirithoüs rescue two maidens from
their abductors. Theseus wields a club at the bandit who attempts to flee on
horseback, while Peirithoüs, after overpowering a second bandit with his sword,
lowers a maiden from a rearing horse. Mongez’s mastery of David’s lessons is
revealed in the skillfully drawn figures, horses, and drapery all disposed in a
rhythmic composition. In contrast to the passages of black and white chalks,
Mongez subtly colors Pirithoüs’s sword sheath with light blue chalk and flesh
tones in ochre chalk.

Theseus and Pirithoüs Clearing the Earth of Brigands, Deliver Two Women from the Hands of Their Abductors
by Angélique Mongez (1806): _____________________________________
 The similarity is that both art eras utilized lingering
elements of the baroque era.

The neoclassical era gleaned from the baroque era

attention to details in the different paintings.
Neoclassical painters attached great importance to
depicting the costumes, settings, and details of their
Classical subject matter with as much historical
accuracy as possible.

Romanticism is refered to as the movement of

emotions.Romanticism took a different
approach by emphasizing emotion and
imagination.

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They were all rooted in reality and used the human
body as the centerpiece in their composition. They
also reflected the mood of the public at the time.
 CONCLUSION
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Both movements had far-reaching influence not only in the visual arts but literature as well.Neoclassicism has been
regarded by many as the predominant movement in European art and architecture during the late 18th century and
early 19th century
Drawing was considered more important than painting. The neoclassical surface had to look perfectly smooth – no
evidence of brush strokes should be discernible to the naked eye. In general, Neoclassicism works could summarized
as having the following characteristics: they were serious, unemotional and heroic. They used somber colors to
convey a moral narrative defined by self-sacrifice and self-denial
Romanticism is a term used to loosely describe changes within the art from roughly 1760 – 1870. The changes can be
seen as a direct reaction against the values of Neoclassicism
In general, it can be argued that the Romantic Movement emphasized the personal, the subjective, the irrational, the
imaginative, the spontaneous, the emotional and, visionary or transcendental works of art (Visual Arts Cork n.d.).
Generally the opposite of what those who subscribed to Neoclassicism espoused as values.
Romanticism emerged as a response to the disillusionment with neoclassical values.
Neoclassicism and Romanticism are two difference movements, with stark constrast, but are still somewhat
connected through the lingering elements of the baroque era they both have or the nature of composition they
have.They also reflected the mood of the public in the paintings. Though each style sometimes wandered to the edge
of believability, they depicted what the audience could understand as real.

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 BIBLOGRAPHY
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https://artincontext.org/art-periods/
https://study.com/academy/lesson/neoclassicism-vs-romanticism.html
https://www2.palomar.edu/users/mhudelson/StudyGuides/NeoCvsRomant_WA.html
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/romanticism/artworks/
https://artsandculture.google.com/usergallery/composition-in-romanticism-
paintings/IALCcVKmr0p5JQ
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/neoclassicism-and-
romanticism/

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