Neoclassicism facts for kids

Wedgewood porcelain vase, Staffordshire 1820: classical proportions and symmetry

The Medici Vase, decorated in "Pompeian" black and red. St Petersburg 1830

Neoclassicism is the name given to movements in the arts that draw upon Western classical art and culture (usually that of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome). Traditionally, Classicism is about the art made in antiquity (very long ago, in ancient times) or later art inspired by that of antiquity. But Neoclassicism is always about the art made later but inspired by antiquity. So, Classicism and Neoclassicism are often used together. It often means clearness, elegance, harmony, and rest made by careful attention to traditional forms.

Examples of Neoclassicism in architecture include the White House and Neue Wache.

Images for kids

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss; by Antonio Canova; 1787; marble; 155 cm × 168 cm; Louvre
Charles Towneley in his sculpture gallery; by Johann Zoffany; 1782; oil on canvas; height: 127 cm, width: 102 cm; Towneley Hall Art Gallery and Museum (Burnley, UK)
Johann Joachim Winckelmann, often called "the father of archaeology"
Oath of the Horatii; by Jacques-Louis David; 1784; oil on canvas; 3.3 x 4.27 m; Louvre
Hôtel Gouthière on Rue Pierre-Bullet no. 6 (Paris), unknown date, unknown architect
"The Etruscan room", from Potsdam (Germany), c.1840, illustration by Friedrich Wilhelm Klose
Château de Malmaison, 1800, room for the Empress Joséphine, on the cusp between Directoire style and Empire style
Portrait of Antoine Valedau from 1809
The West building (1941) of the National Gallery of Art in Washington
Ostankino Palace, designed by Francesco Camporesi and completed in 1798, in Moscow, Russia
Arkhangelskoye estate
Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 2006
Fantasy View with the Pantheon and other Monuments of Ancient Rome; by Giovanni Paolo Panini; 1737; oil on canvas; 98.9 x 137.49 cm; Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, USA)
The ancient Capitol ascended by approximately one hundred steps . . .; by Giovanni Battista Piranesi; c. 1750; etching; size of the entire sheet: 33.5 × 49.4 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery; by Joseph Wright of Derby; c. 1766; oil on canvas; 1.47 x 2.03 m; Derby Museum and Art Gallery (Derby, England)
The Attributes of the Arts; by Anne Vallayer-Coster; 1769; oil on canvas; 90 x 121 cm; Louvre
Ariadne Abandoned; by Angelica Kauffmann; before 1782; oil on canvas; 88 x 70.5 cm; Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Dresden, Germany)
Self-Portrait with a Harp; by Rose-Adélaïde Ducreux; 1791; oil on canvas; 193 x 128.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Julie Lebrun as Flora; by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun; c.1799; oil on canvas; 129.5 x 97.8 cm; Museum of Fine Arts (St. Petersburg, Florida, USA)
Portrait of Charlotte du Val d'Ognes; by Marie-Denise Villers; 1801; oil on canvas; 161.3 x 128.6 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Napoleon I on His Imperial Throne; by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres; 1806; oil on canvas; 2.62 x 1.62 m; Army Museum (Paris)
Romania Unchanied; by Gheorghe Tattarescu; 1866; oil on canvas; 31 x 24 cm; private collection
Mercury or The Trade; by Augustin Pajou; 1780; marble; height: 196 cm; Louvre
The Winter; by Jean-Antoine Houdon; 1783; marble; height: 145 cm; Musée Fabre (Montpellier, France)
Central pavilion of the École Militaire (Paris), 1752, by Ange-Jacques Gabriel
Panthéon (Paris), 1758–1790, by Jacques-Germain Soufflot (1713-1780) and Jean-Baptiste Rondelet (1743-1829)
Hôtel de la Marine (Paris), 1761-1770, by Ange-Jacques Gabriel
Commode of Madame du Barry; by Martin Carlin (attribution); 1772; oak base veneered with pearwood, rosewood and amaranth, soft-paste Sèvres porcelain, bronze gilt, white marble; 87 x 119 cm; Louvre
Hôtel du Châtelet (Paris), 1776
Stairway of the Grand Theater of Bordeaux (Bordeaux, France), 1777-1780, by Victor Louis
Parisian corner cabinet; by Jean Henri Riesener; 1780–1790; oak, mahogany, marble, and ormolu mounts; 94.3 × 81.3 × 55.9 cm; Art Institute of Chicago (US)
Large vase; 1783; hard porcelain and gilt bronze; height: 2 m, diameter: 0.90 m; Louvre
The Cabinet Doré of Marie-Antoinette at the Palace of Versailles (Versailles, France), 1783, by the Rousseau brothers
Roll-top desk of Marie-Antoinette; by Jean-Henri Riesener; 1784; oak and pine frame, sycamore, amaranth and rosewood veneer, bronze gilt; 103.6 x 113.4 cm; Louvre
Writing table of Marie-Antoinette; by Adam Weisweiler; 1784; oak, ebony and sycamore veneer, Japanese lacquer, steel, bronze gilt; 73.7 x 81. 2 cm; Louvre
Ewer; 1784–1785; silver; height: 32.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Folding stool (pliant); 1786; carved and painted beechwood, covered in pink silk; 46.4 × 68.6 × 51.4 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Pair of vases; 1789; hard-paste porcelain, gilt bronze, marble; height (each): 23 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Armchair (fauteuil) from Louis XVI's Salon des Jeux at Saint Cloud; 1788; carved and gilded walnut, gold brocaded silk (not original); overall: 100 × 74.9 × 65.1 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Entrance of the Hôtel de Villette (Paris), unknown date, unknown architect
Panel win an arabesque in the Hôtel Gouthière (Paris), unknown date, unknown architect
Astronomical clock; by Philippe-Jacques Corniquet; c.1794; gilt bronze and enamel face; unknown dimensions; Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris)
Fan; by Charles Percier, Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine and Antoine Denis Chaudet; c.1797-1799; paper, wood, and bone; 23.5 x 43.8 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Armchair of the salon of Madame Récamier; attributed to Jacob Frères; c.1798; various types of wood; 84.5 x 62.2 x 62 cm; Musée des Arts Décoratifs
Coffeepot; 1797–1809; silver gilt; height: 33.3 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Empress Joséphine's Bedroom in Château de Malmaison (Rueil-Malmaison, France), 1800-1802, by Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine
Washstand (athénienne or lavabo); 1800–1814; legs, base and shelf of yew wood, gilt-bronze mounts, iron plate beneath shelf; height: 92.4 cm, width: 49.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Portico of the Palais Bourbon (Paris), 1806-1808, by Bernard Poyet
La Madeleine (Paris), 1807-1842, by Pierre-Alexandre Vignon
Vase; 1809; hard-paste porcelain and gilded bronze handles; height: 74.9 cm, diameter: 35.6 cm; Wadsworth Atheneum (Hartford, Connecticut, US)
Egyptian Revival coin cabinet; by François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter; 1809–1819; mahogany (probably Swietenia mahagoni), with applied and inlaid silver; 90.2 x 50.2 x 37.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Clock with Mars and Venus; circa 1810; gilded bronze and patina; height: 90 cm; Louvre
King of Rome's Cradle; by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon, Henri Victor Roguier, Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot and Pierre-Philippe Thomire; 1811; wood, silver gilt, mother-of-pearl, sheets of copper covered with velvet, silk and tulle, decorated with silver and gold thread; height: 216 cm; Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna, Austria)
Carpet; 1814–1830; 309.9 × 246.4 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
La Scala Opera House, completed in 1778 by Giuseppe Piermarini
Palazzo Belgioioso, built in 1781 by Giuseppe Piermarini
Villa Belgiojoso Bonaparte, built between 1790 and 1796 by architect Leopoldo Pollack
Piazza del Popolo in Rome, redesigned between 1811 and 1822 by Giuseppe Valadier
Piazza del Plebiscito (1809 - 1846) in Naples
Palazzo Grassi built between 1748 and 1772 by Giorgio Massari on the Grand canal in Venice
Kedleston Hall (Kedleston, Derbyshire, England), 1760-1770, by Robert Adam
Eating Room (Osterley Park, London), 1761, by Robert Adam
Syon House (Middlesex, England), 1762, by Robert Adam
The Hall (Osterley Park), 1767, by Robert Adam
Carpet; by Robert Adam; 1770–1780; knotted wool; 505.5 x 473.1 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Apotheosis of Virgil; by John Flaxman; c.1776; jasperware; diameter: 41 cm; Harris Museum (Preston, Lancashire, UK)
Somerset House (London), 1776-1801, by William Chambers
Urn on pedestal; circa 1780 with latter additions; by Robert Adam; inlaid mahogany; height: 49.8 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Side table with many acanthus leafs and two bucrania; by Robert Adam; c.1780 with later addition; mahogany; overall: 88.6 × 141.3 × 57.1 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Covered Wedgwood urn; c.1800; jasper ware with relief decoration; overall: 19.7 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland, Ohio, USA)
Maple secretary; circa 1790; maple and brass; height: 242.57 cm; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (US)
Candlestand; 1790-1800; mahogany, birch, and various inlays; 107 x 49.21 x 48.9 cm; Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Writing desk; 1790-1810; satinwood, mahogany, tulip poplar, and pine; 153.67 x 90.17 x 51.44 cm; Los Angeles County Museum of Art
White House (Washington, D.C.), 1792-1829, by James Hoban
Capitol Building (Washington, D.C.), 1793-1863, by William Thornton and Thomas Ustick Walter
Federal Hill Mansion (My Old Kentucky Home State Park, Bardstown, Kentucky), 1795
Armchair; possibly by Ephraim Haines; 1805-1815; mahogany and cane; height: 84.77 cm, width: 52.07 cm; Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Four-column pedestal card table with pineapple finial; 1815-1820; mahogany, tulip poplar, and pine woods; 74.93 x 92.71 x 46.67 cm; Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Rotunda (University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia), by Thomas Jefferson, 1822-1826
South Carolina State House (Columbia, South Carolina), 1855, by John Rudolph Niernsee
James Dawkins and Robert Wood Discovering the Ruins of Palmyra, by Gavin Hamilton (1758)
Madame Raymond de Verninac by Jacques-Louis David, with clothes and chair in Directoire style. "Year 7": that is, 1798–1799
Portrait of Madame Récamier, by Jacques-Louis David, 1800
Elizabeth Alexeievna, Empress of Russia, in 1802

Neoclassicism facts for kids

Images for kids

See also