neoclassicism

American  

[nee-oh-klas-uh-siz-uhm] / ˌni oʊˈklæs əˌsɪz əm /

noun

1. Architecture. Often Neoclassicism the trend or movement prevailing in the architecture of Europe, America, and various European colonies at different periods during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, characterized by the introduction and widespread use of Greek orders and decorative motifs, the subordination of detail to simple, strongly geometric overall compositions, the presence of light colors or shades, frequent shallowness of relief in ornamental treatment of façades, and the absence of textural effects.

2. Sometimes Neoclassicism stylistic principles that attempt to revive classical Greek or Roman aesthetics or philosophy in art, literature, etc.

3. Sometimes Neoclassicism any of various movements of the late 1600s to the mid 1800s in architecture, the arts, literature, etc. that attempted to revive classical Greek or Roman aesthetics or philosophy.

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neoclassicism British  

/ ˌniːəʊˈklæsɪˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. a late 18th- and early 19th-century style in architecture, decorative art, and fine art, based on the imitation of surviving classical models and types

2. music a movement of the 1920s, involving Hindemith, Stravinsky, etc, that sought to avoid the emotionalism of late romantic music by reviving the use of counterpoint, forms such as the classical suite, and small instrumental ensembles

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Other Word Forms

• neoclassicist noun

Etymology

Origin of neoclassicism

First recorded in 1890–95; neo- + classicism

Explanation

Neoclassicism is a style of art that's inspired by ancient Greece and Rome. In 18th-century visual art and architecture, neoclassicism meant a return to simpler, more traditional forms. Neoclassicism can be seen all over the Western world, most obviously in large, symmetrical buildings with columns — the White House is a great example of this style. The revival of traditional forms rooted in Classical Greek and Roman art affected everything from fashion and music to literature and visual arts, arising along with the Age of Enlightenment in the 1700s. The word neoclassicism updates classicism ("classic style") with the Greek neo, or "new."

Example Sentences

Throughout the roaring decade, she became known for her impeccable techniques and her mixing of influences: cubism and neoclassicism, stillness and speed, past and future.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2022

In the nineteen-forties and fifties, Langlois’s Cinémathèque Française was the key place where the future filmmakers of the French New Wave learned about movies by watching movies—where the romance of cinematic neoclassicism was born.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 10, 2014

Looked at through the lens of today’s painting revival, driven by artists romping through styles from Surrealism to neoclassicism, the paintings seem almost sophisticated in their slapstick simplicity.

From New York Times • Jul. 3, 2011

Sallée’s model’s pose, with her arms up, removing the pins from her hairpiece, is more reminiscent of Degas’s unselfconscious bathers than of Ingres’s chilly neoclassicism.

From Washington Post

In attempting to express this, Trapp is in touch with what is best in neoclassicism.

From The Preface to the Aeneis of Virgil (1718) by Trapp, Joseph

Related Words

• grandeur