Neoclassicism
Romanticism
Realism
Impressionism
Neoclassicism
• Neoclassicism comprised a return to
the classical models, literary styles,
and values of ancient Greek and
Roman authors.
• Neoclassicism refers to a broad
tendency in literature and art enduring
from the early seventeenth century
until around 1750.
Characteristics of Neoclassicism
The Classical values: the neoclassicists emphasis upon the classical values of
objectivity, impersonality, rationality, decorum, balance, harmony, proportion, and
moderation.
Aristotelian Notion of Probability and the “Unities”: The neoclassicists might
be thought of as heirs to the Aristotelian notion of probability, as well as the “unities”
of action, time, and place.
Nature of Literature: the neoclassical writers reaffirmed literary composition as a
rational and rule-bound process, requiring a great deal of craft, labor, and study.
Literary forms: The neoclassicists tended to insist on the separation of poetry and
prose, the purity of each genre, and the hierarchy of genres (though, unlike
Aristotle, they generally placed the epic above tragedy). The typical verse forms of
the neoclassical poets were the alexandrine in France and the heroic couplet in
England.
Characteristics of Neoclassicism
Imitation and Nature: Two of the concepts central to neoclassical literary theory
and practice were imitation and nature, which were intimately related.
Imitation The imitation of classical models, especially Homer and Vergil.
Nature the harmonious and hierarchical order of the universe, including the
various social and political hierarchies within the world.
“Nature” had a deep moral significance, comprehending the modes of action that
were permissible and excluding certain actions as “unnatural”. Clearly, the
neoclassical vision of nature was very different from the meanings later given to it
by the Romantics.
The neoclassical writers generally saw the ancients such as Homer and Vergil as
having already discovered and expressed the fundamental laws of nature. Hence,
the external world, including the world of human action, could best be expressed by
modern writers if they followed the path of imitation already paved by the ancients.
Invention was of course allowed, but only as a modification of past models, not in
the form of a rupture.
Romanticism,
Realism and
Impressionis
m
Romanticism
Began in Germany and England
Entered Europe in 19th Century
Deeply connected with politics and was the voice of changes
that Europe went through
Romanticism emerges from a desire for freedom both
political and personal (feeling, action, worship, speech).
Romanticism 1750-1850
This movement was made
up of writers, made up of
writers, poets, artists and
poets, artists and
composers went away from
reason and the reality of
the Industrial Revolution
towards the beauty and
power of nature
A NOTE ABOUT ROMANTICISM 1800-1840
Romanticism, first defined as an aesthetic
in literary criticism around 1800, gained
momentum as an artistic movement in
France and Britain in the early decades of
the nineteenth century and flourished until
mid-century.
With its emphasis on the imagination and
emotion, Romanticism emerged as a
response to the disillusionment with the
Enlightenment values of reason and order
in the aftermath of the French Revolution
of 1789.
Some Example:
Lord Byron
My joys, my grief, my passions
and my powers made me a
stranger”.
The romantic hero with a dark
past was written and painters
used bold new colors to bring
about emotion
Realist Painting
Realism “I cannot paint an angel
because I have never seen
• This was the attempt to show one” – Gustave Courbet,
the world how life really was. French realistic Painter
• They rejected the romantic
emphasis on imagination.
Writers like Charles Dickens
wrote books such as Oliver
Twist about the poor and
working class.
Impressionism
Originated in France in the last
quarter of 18 century as a reaction
against traditional art and its strict
rules
Concentrated on the impression
produced by a scene or object
A lot of colours
Little details
More of a state of mind than a
technique
Monet Degas
Subjects of impressionism
Scenes from everyday life
Nature
People
Paris
Impressionist technique
Colour
Brush work
Locale
Composition
Impressionists and Post Impressionists 1870’s
Photography came about and painters were
looking for a new way to express themselves.
They decided to show brush strokes and they
wanted to capture the eye in a first impression.
They took a different view of familiar subjects.
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