Neoclassical art, also called Neoclassicism and Classicism, a

widespread and influential movement in painting and the other visual arts that
began in the 1760s, reached its height in the 1780s and ’90s, and lasted until
the 1840s and ’50s. In painting it generally took the form of an emphasis
on austere linear design in the depiction of Classical themes and subject matter,
using archaeologically correct settings and clothing. Neoclassicism in the arts
is an aesthetic attitude based on the art of Greece and Rome in antiquity,
which invokes harmony, clarity, restraint, universality, and idealism. In
the context of the tradition, Classicism refers either to the art produced in
antiquity or to later art inspired by that of antiquity, while Neoclassicism
always refers to the art produced later but inspired by antiquity. Classicizing
artists tend to prefer somewhat more specific qualities, which include line over
colour, straight lines over curves, frontality and closed compositions over
diagonal compositions into deep space, and the general over the particular.

Parnassus (1761) by Anton Raphael Mengs

Artist Anton Raphael Mengs

Date Painted 1761

Medium Oil on panel

Dimensions 55 cm x 101 cm

State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg,

Where It Is Currently Housed Russia
Anton Raphael Mengs’ painting Parnassus was created as a sketch of his masterful
fresco in the Villa Albani in Rome. Mengs’ fresco contributed to establishing the
ascendancy of Neoclassicism paintings. In his painting Parnassus, Mengs had
broken away from the Baroque traditions and incorporated the Neoclassical style
art conventions.
The Death of General Wolfe (1770) by Benjamin West
Artist Benjamin West

Date Painted 1770

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions 151 cm x 213 cm

Where It Is Currently Housed National Gallery of Canada

Benjamin West was a British-American painter who became famous for his
paintings of historical scenes. One of his most famous Neoclassical paintings
was The Death of General Wolfe completed in 1770. The painting is a portrayal of the
Battle of Quebec at the moment of General James Wolfe’s death. General Wolfe is
the central figure on the battlefield, he is lying down and his propped-up body acts
as the base of the pyramidal shape that is formed by his surrounding officers that
peaks at the partially raised flag, displaying a triangular composition.
Oath of the Horatii (1784) by Jacques-Louis David
Artist Jacques-Louis David

Date Painted 1784

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions 329.8 cm x 424.8 cm

Where It Is Currently Housed Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

The Neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David has been considered the pioneer of
Neoclassical painting. David’s Oath of the Horatii was immediately considered hugely
successful by the public and critics and is considered as one of the most famous
Neoclassical paintings from the movement. David’s painting depicted a Roman
legend; a scene about two cities at war, Alba Longa and Rome. Each city chooses
three of its men to send to fight, rather than entire armies being sent to war.