Classicism

Classicism is a philosophy of art and life that emphasizes order, balance, and simplicity. The ancient Greeks were the first great classicists. Later, the Romans, French, English, and others produced Classical movements. Each group developed its own unique characteristics, but all reflected certain common ideals of art, humanity, and the world.

The qualities of classicism

Classicism contrasts with the philosophy of art and life called Romanticism. Classicism stresses reason and analysis, while Romanticism stresses imagination and the emotions. Classicism seeks what is universally true, good, and beautiful. Romanticism seeks the exceptional and the unconventional. Classical art looks to the past for its models. It often revives ancient Greek and Roman values, and is then called Neoclassicism. Romanticism is often sympathetic to revolutions in society and art. Classical artists follow formal rules of composition more closely than Romantic artists do. See Romanticism .

Classicists know that reality is complex. But they try to approach it through simple structures. For example, the classical playwright concentrates on essentials by restricting a play to a single line of action that could happen within one day, in one place, or in nearby places.

The Italian artist Raphael and the French artist Nicolas Poussin painted pictures illustrating the finest qualities of classical art. Many of their pictures have a poetic mood, but the organization of the subject matter is always balanced, harmonious, and orderly. These qualities can be seen in Raphael’s School of Athens and Madonna of the Goldfinch. The works of the Italian composer Giovanni Palestrina and the French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau show the classical qualities of balance and clarity.

Great classical movements

The first important classical movement developed in ancient Greece and Rome. Another such movement appeared in Western Europe in the 1600’s and 1700’s.

Greece.

The first classical period in the West arose in ancient Greece, and reached its height in the 400’s and 300’s B.C. The Greeks praised reason and denounced emotionalism and exaggeration. They tried to see all reality within a unified system that gave it meaning and direction. Greek artists showed the beauty of the human form. The sculptures of Phidias and Praxiteles are magnificent examples of proportioned human figures. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides wrote tragedies about the power of fate and the danger of excessive pride. See Greek literature ; Greece, Ancient (The arts) .

Rome.

Roman classicism developed in two stages. These stages occurred during the age of Cicero from 80 to 43 B.C., and the age of Augustus from 27 B.C. to A.D. 14. The Romans adopted the Greek classical values, and added a unique emphasis on civilization as an organized, cooperative undertaking. Under the influence of the statesman and orator Cicero, civic responsibility gained a new importance. Rome’s literature reached its highest achievement during the reign of Augustus. The classical poet Virgil wrote works on the development of civilization and on the heritage of Rome. The works of the classical poet Horace exemplify civilized attitudes toward society and life. See Latin literature .

France.

The French Classical movement of the 1600’s developed the most diverse expression of classical values ever seen in the Western world. French Classicists placed especially strong emphasis on reason and the intellect in analyzing ideas and human actions. The most important people in the intellectual and literary history of the French Classical period include the mathematician-philosophers Blaise Pascal and Rene Descartes; the moralist writer Duc de La Rochefoucauld; the writer of fables Jean de La Fontaine; and the dramatists Pierre Corneille and Jean Racine. See French literature (The Classical age) .

England.

The English Classical period followed French Classicism. It arose in the late 1600’s and reached its height during the first half of the 1700’s. The English modeled their movement on the Classicism of France, Greece, and Rome. They strove for good taste and truth to nature. For a more detailed discussion of English Classicism, see English literature (The Augustan Age) .

Germany.

In Germany and in German-speaking Austria, music rather than literature best expressed Classical ideals. Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven rank among the great Classical composers (see Classical music ). In the late 1700’s in Germany, a Classical literature flourished side by side with Romantic literature. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is often regarded as the finest Classical and the finest Romantic German writer.

There is a separate article in World Book for each person discussed in this article. See also Russian literature (The Classical movement) .