Neoclassicism was an art movement created in the late 18th century that pushed into the 19th century. The main purpose of Neoclassical art was to revive the old spirit of Greek and Roman art to continue the European Enlightenment. Neoclassicism rejected the ornateness of the Baroque age of art and the decorated Rococo art period. The Grand Tour allowed this artistic thought to travel across the northern areas of Europe. Subjects depicted throughout Neoclassical paintings and sculptures focus on Greek/Roman mythology and literature “using somber colors with occasional brilliant highlights, to convey moral narratives of self-denial and self-sacrifice fully in keeping with the supposed ethical superiority of Antiquity”.
Neoclassical artworks were serious, unemotional, and focused on the heroic. The subjects contained an idealized political and social view relating to the Greco-Roman time period. Jacques-Louis David’s painting The Oath of Horatii is a prime example of Neoclassical art. The stern lines and obvious historical narrative show the heroic oath between three men on swords.
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The word “Romantic” was associated with feeling and beauty. Any mood, good or bad, could be conveyed in a Romantic stylized painting. This Romantic style called for a “return to nature... a belief in the goodness of humanity, the promotion of justice for all, and a strong belief in the senses and emotions, rather than reason and intellect”. It could portray figures or even a beautiful landscape. Romantic art can usually be spotted by its seen brush strokes. This emotional, personal response to the life around us is a stark contrast to the stern and universal values that Neoclassical art