Neoclassicism was a style with many contradictions. The word Neoclassicism was not mentioned in that time. Neoclassicism was official policy of an Academy in the middle of 19^th century, but one segment of Neoclassicism enters in Romanticism while other became culminate phase in Enlightenment. It was the time when philosophers spoke about state, politics, moral.

They were educators and  in some way their lives were examples  to the people how to live. On the other side Jean-Jacques Rousseau was telling that people should be return to the primitive. That primitive component can be seen in Neoclassicism as well.

Revolution in 1789 should constitute concept of Liberty , Equality, Fraternity (Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité). Artist find themselves as revolutionaries. They thought that they were creating big style. In the middle of the 19^th century the word Neoclassicism got pejorative connotation indicating imitation, frigidity, style without individualism etc. The word that they were using was risorgimento that is to rise again. This word is later used by Garibaldi.

Neoclassicism brought attack over Rococo art, they thought that Rococo was shameless style, unscrupulous. Esthetic and philosophic statements were changed since Rococo, but that does not mean that Rococo art was vanished in the time when Neoclassicism was dominant. There even was a statement that Rococo was aristocratic style while Neoclassicism was bourgeoisie, but that isn’t true. Neoclassicism critique art that is master’s slave (in their opinion, for example Rococo artist Boucher made that kind of art). Winckelmann said that art must immerse in intellect.

Themes were changed too. Now, artist paints heroic visions, heroes, high ideals etc. Neoclassicism exclude ornament that was most common in Rococo art, they insist in greek and roman shapes, in Naples made pottery  à la grecque, they were reading Homer, Vergil etc. For example we can see that in  Gavin Hamilton paintings such as , Achilles Mourning Patroclus  and The Oath of Brutus, Raphael Mengs painting Ausustus and Cleopatra, David paintings  The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons, The Death of Socrates, Oath of the Horatii etc.

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