Baroque Vs Neoclassical

Throughout the mid 18th century into the early 19th century, social and political trends of the time expressed themselves in art. Neoclassicism developed alongside the new ideology of the Enlightenment, displaying political and social trends in Europe and the New World. In contrast to the established late Baroque Rococo style, Neoclassical artists simplified art, harkening back to the days of ancient Rome and Greece (Janson and Davies 790). Seeking a harmonious and simple alternative to the excessively ornate and lavish style born in the Baroque period, Enlightened artists found the rational and geometric harmony of classical art and architecture to be an ideal model. Not only were the characteristics of the style appealing to Enlightenment thinkers, but the republics and democracies of ancient Rome and Greece represented the contemporary desire for liberty and morality which brought about the French and American Revolution (Gardner and Kleiner 766). When intellectuals from all around Europe came to study in Rome, they left with a renewed respect for the Greco-Roman past, and brought it throughout Europe and

Beginning as a form of propaganda, Baroque art aggrandized the Catholic Church, spreading the Baroque style across Europe (Stokstad 744). From its Catholic roots, the dramatic and emotional Baroque artwork found users in service of not only the emerging secular state, but also in the employ of the absolute monarchy (Janson and Davies 660). Utilizing contrasts in light and dark alongside soaring landscapes and vibrant colors, Baroque art evoked emotion in the viewers (Gardner and Kleiner 649). As it epitomized the old institutions such as the Church and the absolute monarchy, the dramatic Baroque style fell out of favor with the Enlightened contemporaries, who brought about revolutions both in their governments, and in their