Neoclassicism Flashcards

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Angelica Kauffmann, Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi, 1785

neoclassical exemplum virtutis- Tiberius & Gaius Gracchus, 2nd c. BCE reformers of Roman republic, here as children; Cornelius introduces to other woman who is showing off jewels- indicates boys are her “jewels”

good wife and mother, sacrifices for boys’ education (they carry books & scrolls) vs. “feminine” materialism (girl plays with jewels)

style: Roman relief sarcophagi, left to right, pared-down background, achromatic, minimal landscape

Cornelia wears white, stands above other woman physically and morally

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Jacques-Louis David, The Oath of the Horatii, 1784

Enlightment belief: subject matter should have moral (civic) virtue- exemplum virtutis

Royal patron to recruit French troops- becomes symbol of revolution & sacrifice for country

dark, pared down background, set in Ancient Rome- reference to play by Livy- pre-Republican Rome- Rome (Horatii) vs. Alba (Curatii)

Masculine= positive virtues- courage, patriotism; Feminine= negative- emotions of love, sorrow, despair

Appeal is to logical & rationality, not emotion, built like tectonic grid (neoclassicism), opposite of Rococo

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Antonio Canova, Pauline Borghese as Venus, 1808

Napoleon’s sister, uses official sculptor; Napoleon & her husband wanted Diana, virgin goddess of hunt, she wanted Venus, goddess of love and sex; so scandalous only seen by candlelight

comprehended from one angle, reclining on accurate reproduction of Greek bedstead and table

imitate High Classical sculpture, but posed more rigidly to reflect Neoclassical sensibilities; opposite of dramatic, exuberant Baroque

calm, closed, timeless beauty; streamlined body, desirable & distant, erotic & cold, mortal & divine

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Pierre Vignon, La Madeleine, Paris, France, 1807-1842

symbol of Napoleon’s desire to link himself to Roman emperors, emulate architecture of Imperial Rome

“Temple of Glory” to honor French soldiers

Roman temple front, tall platform, colossal, monolithic Corithian columns

completed after Napoleon’s fall and turned into a church (St. Mary Magdalene)

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