18th Century Culture

Travel

Elites began to travel for pleasure in greater numbers than ever before.

The “grand tour” of Europe became a must for the cultured.

People wished to see the ruins of antiquity and the new urban centers throughout Europe.

Coffee houses offered a meeting place for people to discuss philosophy and the issues of the day.

The Salons Groups organized by

women, such as Madame de Pompadour, of wealthy families.

Gave a forum to which philosophes could share their ideas.

Allowed women a place were they could be taken seriously.

Often, the etiquette of the gatherings made things ‘artificial.’

Recreation

The spread of pubs and taverns became popular for working classes, coffee houses for the elite

Festivals continued to be of importance. First “spectator sports” become popular.

– Blood sports such as boxing and cock fighting mixed with gambling popular with commoners.

– Horse racing also popular among the elite– Growing separation between elite and masses in

entertainment.

Neoclassicism

Art style that harkened back to the ideas of Ancient Greece and Rome.

Strict and often unemotional. Reflected the ideas of reason and natural

law embodied in the Enlightenment

Romanticism

Artistic and intellectual movement of the late 18th and early 19th century during the nationalist revolutions.

Reaction to strict focus on reason of the Enlightenment with a strong focus on emotion and intuition.

Romanticism also strongly connected to ideas of nationalism, individualism, and the natural world.

The Arts:Neoclassicism to Romanticism Poetry

– For 140 years from 1660 to 1800 neoclassical poetry reigned England.

– Neoclassical used strictly, structurally balanced verses, witty and elegant language with restrained and controlled emotion, the idea being to create a more refined verse.

– Amongst the most famous neoclassical poets were John Dryden and Alexander Pope.

The Arts:Neoclassicism to Romanticism

Poetry.

– Romantic poetry was the complete opposite of Neoclassical. Romantic poetry used simple language to create the impression that the poet were speaking out loud and usually spoke about common, everyday aspects of life and nature.

– Famous romantic poets of the time were William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge William Blake, Lord Byron, John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley.

The Arts:Neoclassicism to Romanticism

Poetry– Johann von Goethe (1749-1832)

• Prolific German writer and poet who’s work encompassed Neoclassical and Romantic elements.

• He inspired the literary movement known as Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress), emphasizing strong emotion experience.

The Arts:Neoclassicism to Romanticism Music

– Symphony– Began moving from “light” neoclassical

works to more powerful and extended works.• Franz Joseph Hayden

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

– Powerful extended symphonies that reflected the emotion of the Romantic movement.

• Ludwig von Beethoven

The Arts:Neoclassicism to Romanticism Visual Arts

– Neoclassical Art is a severe and unemotional form of art harkening back to the grandeur of ancient Greece and Rome. Its rigidity was a reaction to the overdone Rococo style and the emotional charged Baroque style. The rise of Neoclassical Art was part of a general revival of interest in classical thought, which was of major importance in the Enlightenment and the American and French revolutions.

Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825) The most famous painter in

Europe in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He breathed new life into history painting with his rigorously constructed compositions

David could be petty, graceless, and abrasive. Intensely competitive, he was confident and even boastful of his talent.

Jacques-Louis David - The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons  

Jacques-Louis David – Oath of the Horatii

Benjamin West, The Death of General Wolfe (1770)

Benjamin West, Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1771)

Neoclassical Architecture

Recreated Greek and Roman styles. Used columns, domes and arches.

The Arts:Neoclassicism to Romanticism

Romanticism might best be described as anticlassicism. A reaction against Neoclassicism, it is a deeply-felt style which is individualistic, exotic, beautiful and emotionally wrought.

Romantic are often expressed an emotional expericence embodied in nationalist feeling or awe of nature.

Jacques-Louis David – Bonaparte Crossing the Alps

J.M.W. Turner - Snowstorm: Hannibal and His Army Crossing the Alps

Eugene Delacroix- Liberty Leading the People

Goya - Third of May, 1808

Turner – Burning of the Houses of Parliament

Romanticism Architecture

– Exotic influences from Middle East and China– Neoclassicism of 18th century remained

popular – Neo-Gothic style became popular.