Classicism
Blair Baigent
Senior
Seminar
February 5, 2003
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http://harpy.uccs.edu/index.html ÒClassicism:
Aesthetic attitudes and principles based on culture, art and literature of
ancient Greece and Rome, and characterized by emphasis on form, simplicity,
proportion, and restrained emotion.Ó [1] |
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Classical Idealism
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Classical idealism is
best understood if one starts at the beginning, with Plato and his notion of paradeigma, which in essence is describing the other worldly, or
heavenly place that all beings were originally designed after.[2]
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The classical idea was
that all beings were made in the image of a perfect God, but because earthly
beings are mortals they cannot be perfect. In response to this Plato came up with the term paradeigma, which was actually the place that earthly beings
came from.
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After all of this was
established by Plato he then derives a concept of Ideas, or Òeidos.Ó[3] The Idea was simply how a person would
interpret an object or image from nature and make it more perfect by using his
mind to depict the perfect image that does not really exists on earth.
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The fact that nothing
perfect is the true sense can be seen on earth artists who were trying to
obtain perfection did so by using proportion, symmetry and many models until
they could come up with the perfect form for their sculpture or painting.[4] An example of the Classical idea can be
seen in MichelangeloÕs depiction of Bacchus, sculpted in 1497.
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This is MichelangeloÕs depiction of Bacchus, the classical god of wine and
merriment. One can see how
influential the ancients were on many artists of the Renaissance, and how the
Idea, can be seen in the perfect form and proportion that Bacchus has been
rendered. The small Puti figure
supporting the sculpture was also taken out of the Classical past.
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http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/m/michelan/1sculptu/1/index.html
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Classicism
Characteristics
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The main idea behind the
stylistic concept of Classicism is proportion and symmetry in order to produce
a perfect form, whether it is in a painting or sculpture. However, it is also important to
realize that since the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans, the term Classicism has also become associated with all of the fine arts;
drawing, painting, sculpture, music and poetry.
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Classicism today
encompasses all that is ideal or perfect and the reason for that does date back
to the ancients because of their never-ending search for the perfect form. As the perception of the Classical
world evolve so does what the term encompasses, constantly changing to
accommodate the new forms.[5]
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With the rediscovery of
Pompeii and Herculaneum, the Neo-Classical age came into being in the
mid-eighteenth century. The
emergence of Neo-Classicism after the Rococo period became an instant
sensation, with many artists joining the movement after being unfulfilled with
the lighthearted Rococo movement.
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- Apollo and Daphne by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was painted in 1744 at
the very beginning of the Neo Classical movement in Europe. Although still rendered in a more
painterly technique, the subject matter shows a clear shift away from the
Rococo |
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Even with the
re-emergence of the Classical taste, many aspects of European culture changed
to go along with it. The
architecture once again became more classical, with columns and cartouches
flanking the facades of newly constructed buildings.
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This is Richard
MiqueÕs Temple of Love, which
encompasses a statue of Cupid by Bouchardon from 1775. The classical columns used for the
rotunda were extremely important, and often incorporated into Neo-Classical
architecture. |
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http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/arch/18arch_europe.html
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It
is important for one to remember that there is a difference between ÒClassicÓ
and ÒClassicalÓ, especially while looking at the ideology through many
centuries. Something that is
ÒclassicÓ is usually thought of as something that is Òthe best of its kindÓ,
while the term ÒClassicalÓ generally applies to something from either ancient
Greece or Rome.[6] This is an important distinction when
discussing Classicism because the term is more of an ideology than a specific
period.
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Picasso
and Classicism?
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Although
many think that it is a very far stretch to link Picasso with anything
classical, it is important to remember that most artists that are schooled in
their profession have at one time or another studied the classics, the same
goes for Picasso.
- While taking lessons
from his father, Picasso was schooled in the classical ideals of form and
design, which at times can be seen in his work.
- It is felt by some
scholars that during PicassoÕs ÒBlue PeriodÓ that he began to emulate the
artist El Greco, who was a Greek artist working and living in Spain during the
sixteenth century. The similar
characteristics of this womanÕs elongated fingers and tall slim body are in
relation to the figures that El Greco painted. The scholar John Ferguson felt that http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=
PicassoÕs rendering of this
painting had clear Byzantine
affiliations.[7]
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The fact that Picasso emulated El Greco is not the only reason
some scholars believe that Picasso has ties to Classicism, the fact that he
kept his figures in perfect proportion, even while contorting their bodies is
a classical trait. Picasso also made
it a point to never cut his subjects off the canvas, a similar trait of the
Greeks. |
www.the-artfile.com/uk/artists/
picasso/girlwithamandolin.ht
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As can be seen from the above information, Classicism is an all
encompassing ideology with a few basic rules and regulations, but over time it
as become somewhat flexible with the changing tastes.