Classicism style in art, 17th century Bakai. History of foreign literature of the 17th-18th centuries

The 17th century turned out to be surprisingly favorable for the development artistic culture. It became not only a century of science, but also a century of art. True, taking into account the fact that the blossoming of science had only just begun, while art had already reached its apogee. Nevertheless, the sky above him is still clear and cloudless. His prestige in society is unusually high. In terms of the number of great artists of the 17th century, it apparently surpasses all others, including the Renaissance. Moreover, if during the Renaissance Italy has no equal in the field of art, then in the 17th century. art is on the rise in all European countries, and France now looks preferable.

Like other areas of culture, art has experienced the effects of differentiation. Its isolation becomes more and more prominent and distinct. Even the connection with religion is noticeably weakened. As a result, religious and mythological subjects get rid of excessive pathos and are filled with deep vitality and naturalness.

Another consequence of differentiation is that among artists the universal personalities characteristic of the era disappear. was not only a brilliant artist, but also a great scientist, thinker, and inventor. Although to a lesser extent, the same can be said about L. Alberti, F. Brunelleschi. Piero della Francesche, F. Rabelais and others. Now such large-scale figures are becoming rare. At the same time, there is an increase in the subjective principle in art. It manifests itself in an increasing number of bright individuals, in greater creative freedom and courage, and in a broader view of things.

Within art there is also a process of differentiation, existing genres are changing and new ones are emerging. IN painting Landscape and portrait become completely independent genres, in which psychologism is enhanced. Still life and images of animals appear. The importance of original compositional solutions, color, picturesqueness, and flavor is increasing.

IN music opera is born. The creator of this genre is the Italian composer C. Monteverdi (1567-1643), wrote the opera "Orpheus", which was staged in 1607 and became a real masterpiece of operatic art. For the first time, music in it not only complements the poetry, but is the main character, expressing the meaning of everything that happens on stage. In addition to opera, cantatas and oratorios also appear in music.

The main styles in the art of the 17th century. Baroque and classicism appear. Some art historians believe that at the same time realism emerged as a special style in art, but this point of view is disputed, although the existence of a realistic tendency is recognized.

Baroque

Baroque appears at the end of the 16th century. in Italy. The word “baroque” itself means “strange”, “bizarre”. The Baroque style is characterized by dynamic images, tension, brightness, elegance, contrast, the desire for grandeur, pomp and pomp, a synthesis of arts, a combination of reality and illusion, increased emotionality and sensuality. Baroque was the style of the aristocratic elite of the outgoing feudal society, the style of Catholic culture.

A prominent representative of the Italian Baroque is the Roman architect, sculptor and painter L. Bernini (1598-1680). His work embodied all the most characteristic features of the style - both strong and weak. Many of his works were concentrated in the main monument of Catholic Rome - the Cathedral of St. Petra. Under its dome, built by the great Michelangelo, rises a grandiose monumental and decorative structure - a thirty-meter canopy, and in the altar there is an equally majestic marble pulpit of Peter, decorated with gold and figures depicting angels and cupids, church fathers and saints.

An even more magnificent creation of Bernini was the grandiose colonnade, consisting of 284 columns, placed in four rows and framing a huge square in front of the Cathedral of St. Petra. Bernini's most significant sculptural works are considered to be “Apollo and Daphne” and “The Ecstasy of St. Teresa."

The most famous figure of the European Baroque is the Flemish artist P. Rubens (1577-1640). He can rightfully be called a universal personality, not inferior in scale to the titans of the Renaissance. He was close to humanists and was fond of the classics of Antiquity - Plutarch. Seneca, Horace, knew six languages, including Latin. Rubens was not a scientist or inventor, but he understood the problems of astronomy and archeology, showed interest in clocks without a mechanism, in the idea of perpetual motion, followed new developments in philosophy, understood a lot about politics and actively participated in it. Most of all he loved human life itself.

Rubens embodied his commitment to humanism in his work. He became a great poet of a life filled with happiness, pleasure and lyricism. He remains an unsurpassed singer of human - male and especially female flesh, the sensual beauty of the human body. Only Rubens could, with such courage and love, convey the beauty of the flesh itself, its gentle warmth, soft pliability. He managed to show that flesh can be beautiful without having a beautiful form.

One of the central themes of his work is woman, love and the child as a natural and beautiful fruit of love. This side of his work can be seen and felt in such films as “Venus and Adonis”. "Juno and Argus", "Perseus and Andromeda", "Bathsheba".

While in Italy, Rubens attended a good art school. However, his Flemish temperament did not take everything from the great Italians. It is known that Italian masters preferred balance, calm and harmony, which allowed them to create eternal beauty. Rubens breaks all this in favor of movement. The human figures he depicts often resemble a compressed spring, ready to instantly unfold. In this regard, he is closest to Michelangelo, whose sculptures are full of internal tension and movement. His works are also filled with vigorous dynamism. These, in particular, are the paintings “The Battle of the Amazons”, “The Kidnapping of the Daughters of Leucippus”, “Lion Hunt”, “Boar Hunt”.

In Rubens's works, color and picturesqueness prevail over drawing. Here Titian serves as his example. Rubens does not like too clear contours. It seems to separate matter from form, making it free, alive and carnal. As for color, the artist prefers bright, clean and rich tones, filled with healthy vitality. He strives not so much for their harmony as for orchestration, to create a color symphony. Rubens is rightly called the great composer of color.

Classicism

Homeland classicism became France. If Baroque gives preference to feelings, then classicism rests on reason. The highest norm and ideal example for him is ancient art. Its main principles are clarity, orderliness, logical consistency, harmony and harmony.

According to classicism, the subject of art should be sublime and beautiful, heroic and noble. Art is supposed to express high moral ideals, glorify the beauty and spiritual wealth of man, glorify the triumph of conscious duty over the element of feelings. The judge of art is not only taste, but also reason.

Classicism shares the basic principles of rationalism and, above all, the idea of a rational structure of the world. However, in understanding the relationship between man and nature, he differs from him, continuing the line of Renaissance humanism and believing that these relationships should be built on the principles of consent and harmony, and not domination and submission. This is especially true for art, one of the tasks of which is to glorify the harmony of man with beautiful nature.

The founder and main figure of classicism in painting is a French artist N. Poussin (1594-1665). In his work, he relies entirely on the rationalism of R. Descartes, believing that sensation is always partial and one-sided, and only reason can comprehend the subject comprehensively and in all its complexity. Therefore, reason must judge everything.

Poussin spent almost his entire life in Italy, but this did not stop him from becoming a truly French artist, who created one of the eye movements in art that exists to this day. Of the Italian masters, Raphael had the greatest influence on him. whose works are ideal examples of complete perfection, as well as Titian, from whom all subsequent artists take lessons in pure picturesqueness.

Although Poussin gives preference to reason, his art cannot be called dry, cold and rational. He himself notes that the purpose of art is pleasure, that all the efforts of the artist are aimed at delivering aesthetic pleasure to the viewer. His works already contain two main elements of art, when it becomes a completely independent and self-sufficient phenomenon.

One of them is associated with plasticity, created by purely artistic, pictorial means, a combination of lines and colors, which constitutes a source of special, aesthetic pleasure. The second is associated with expression, expressiveness, with the help of which the artist influences the viewer and evokes in him the state of mind that he himself experienced.

The presence of these two principles allows Poussin to combine intellect and feeling. The primacy of reason is combined with his love of the flesh and sensuality. This is evidenced by his paintings “Venus and Adonis”, “Sleeping Venus”, “Bacchanalia” and others, where we see a person perfect in body and spirit.

In the initial period of Poussin’s creativity, canvases on historical and religious-mythological themes predominated. Such works as “The Rape of the Sabine Women”, “The Capture of

Jerusalem", "Arcadian Shepherds". Then the theme of harmony between man and nature comes to the fore. It is represented in the paintings “The Triumph of Flora”, “Landscape with Polyphemus”, “Landscape with Orpheus and Eurydice”, etc. Nature is not just a place for a person to stay. A deep sensory agreement is established between them, a certain community of souls, they form a single whole. Poussin created real symphonies of man and nature.

In the last years of his life, the artist devoted all his attention to praising nature. He creates the poetry series "Seasons".

Classicism in architecture found its ideal embodiment in the Palace of Versailles, built by the will of the French king Louis XIV. This grandiose ensemble includes three majestic palaces and a huge park with pools, fountains and sculptures. The ensemble is distinguished by its strict layout, geometric park alleys, majestic sculptures, trimmed trees and bushes.

Realism

realistic trend in the art of the 17th century. is represented primarily by the Dutch artist Rembrandt(1606-1669). The origins of this trend are in the work of the Italian painter Caravaggio (1573-1610), who had a great influence on many artists.

Rembrandt's art in some ways occupies a middle position between Baroque and Classicism. In his works one can find features of these two styles, but without the extremes inherent in each of them. In particular, his famous "Danae" looks very sensual and carnal, but not to the same extent as Rubens would have performed it. It's the same with classicism. Some of its features are present in Rembrandt's works, but there is no pure, idealized beauty in them, there is nothing majestic or heroic. no pathos, etc. In them everything seems to be closer to the ground, everything is much simpler, more natural, more truthful, more lifelike.

However, the main originality of Rembrandt’s art lies elsewhere. It lies in the fact that thanks to him a new direction arose in European painting - psychologism. Rembrandt was the first to seriously respond to the famous call of Socrates: “know yourself.” He turned his gaze inward, and a huge and unknown inner world, commensurate with the infinite Universe, was revealed to him. The subject of his art is the inexhaustible wealth of human spiritual life.

Rembrandt seems to be peering and listening to the endless overflows of psychological states, the inexhaustible manifestations of individual human character. Hence the abundance of not only portraits, but also self-portraits, in which he depicts himself at different periods of his life - in youth and old age, in different states - full of vitality and after illness. In his works, portraiture not only becomes an independent genre, but also reaches unprecedented heights. All his work can be called art portrait.

This turn is largely explained by the fact that Rembrandt - unlike the Catholics Rubens and Poussin - was a Protestant. Before the advent of Protestantism, man did not consciously seek to separate himself from others. On the contrary, he did not think of himself outside the collective community. In Antiquity, such a community was supported by political and moral norms. In the Middle Ages, Christianity strengthened its previous foundations with a community of faith.

Protestantism violated this tradition, placing the main responsibility for a person’s fate on himself. Now the matter of salvation became, first of all, a personal matter for each individual. A profound shift occurred in the consciousness of Western man, and Rembrandt was the first to deeply feel the changes taking place and expressed them in his art.

Many works from the early period of Rembrandt’s work, and above all his self-portraits, speak of close attention to the secrets of one’s inner life, of the search for one’s own personal truth. This is also evidenced by his paintings such as “Apostle Paul in Prison”, “Christ in Emmaus”, etc., where psychological experiences and reflections on the meaning of life and existence come to the fore. In the mature period and especially after the famous "Night Watch" these trends are becoming even stronger. They appear especially vividly in the paintings “Portrait of an Old Man in Red” and “Portrait of an Old Lady.” The painting “The Syndics” becomes the pinnacle of the art of group portraiture.

In the last period of his work, Rembrandt plunged more and more into the depths of human consciousness. He invades a completely new problem for European art - the problem of human loneliness. An example of this is his paintings “The Philosopher” and “The Return of the Prodigal Son”.

XVII century - beginning of the New Age; in history, this concept denotes the period of victory and establishment of the bourgeois system in the developed countries of Europe and America. Within the New Age, it is customary to distinguish two periods: the 17th-18th centuries - classical, and from the 19th century - modern times.

The 17th century is the key phase of the collapse of feudalism and the maturation of the capitalist structure within Western European society. This is the time of post-reformation civil wars, when the minds are dominated by the ideas of religious tolerance and strong statehood, which alone can provide scope for the civil development of the individual; The main political process of the century is the formation of national states. At this time, Western Europe was geographically divided into two camps: the countries of the North, where the Reformation triumphed and Protestantism triumphed, and the countries of the South, where Catholicism was preserved. A new economic structure was rapidly developing in the northern countries, and the first bourgeois revolutions took place in Holland and England. True, they were still accomplished in the usual shell of religious wars. The revolution in Holland took the form of a struggle for independence from Spain; fanatical Spaniards, caring for the establishment of Catholicism, exterminated the “wicked,” and the executioner of Holland, the Duke of Alba, died with a clear conscience, declaring that he was “not guilty of the blood of a single Catholic.” In the English Revolution of 1645-1649, supporters of the king and parliament opposed each other; pro-Catholic sentiments were strong at court, and parliament was a stronghold of Protestantism. In 1618-1648, Germany was engulfed in the Thirty Years' War. All this shows that the religious sphere still retained its importance and, in order to penetrate the masses, any idea still had to be enclosed in a religious shell, but at the same time new powerful factors of ideological life appeared.

Firstly, this is the period of the formation of science in the modern sense of the word. During the 17th century, the development of the teachings of Nicolaus Copernicus by Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler, the discovery of blood circulation by William Harvey, and the justification of the method of natural sciences by the mathematician Rene Descartes marked a revolution in scientific thinking and produced changes in the medieval picture of the world. The invention of the microscope and telescope demonstrated the absence of God and its visible end in the Universe, as well as the presence of a universal interconnection in the principles of the structure of the Universe. The earth was no longer perceived as a solid, immovable center of the universe; the world was understood as perpetual motion, and atomistic ideas determined the mentality of the era. The idea of a cozy firmament disappeared, and in its place came a cold, starry abyss. God no longer monitors every movement of people - an idea of nature arises not as a divine harmony, a blissful cosmos, but as a totality of matter, in principle indifferent to the human need for truth, goodness and beauty. Nature from the “mother”, from the womb of humanity turns into an object of human influence that must be “conquered”. In this new, indifferent world abandoned by God, man felt lonely, abandoned, lost the sense of his exclusivity in the universe and turned into a grain of sand, lost in the Universe.

Unlike the Renaissance with its clarity and harmony, man ceases to be perceived as the measure of all things. The man of the 17th century abandoned the Renaissance spontaneity and freedom; fatigue from religious wars led to a desire for peace at any cost, and peace required self-restraint and renunciation of violence. Life without violence can only be ensured by a strong government, a strong state, in which individual life is subject to supra-personal laws common to all. Therefore, both in natural and social terms, a person of the 17th century begins to recognize himself as a small particle of a huge whole, as a being subject to transpersonal, natural laws that must be taken into account. Therefore, the 17th century more accurately saw the imperfection of the world, more accurately perceived man. If the outside world is a moving, changeable chaos, on which a person is completely dependent, then the relationship of the individual with this world, with society, was perceived as more dramatic, devoid of self-sufficiency. Man’s support in the contingencies of life can only be reason, hence the famous definition of man, belonging to the philosopher and writer Blaise Pascal: “Man is a thinking reed.” In these words, Pascal simultaneously conveys the weakness of man - he is just a fragile reed bending in the wind, and his greatness - a “thinking” reed, which means capable of comprehending his adversities, rising above them to tragic greatness.

In philosophy, this new, discrete vision of the world was reflected by Rene Descartes (1590-1650), who, in addition to mathematical works, created a book that substantiated rationalism as a methodology of the natural sciences - Discourse on Method.

In the 17th century, science had not yet emerged as an independent form of social consciousness; crisis religiosity interacted complexly with emerging science. Neither science nor morality in the 17th century was yet capable of achieving autonomy in relation to religion. Therefore, religious issues continue to play a significant role in the art of the 17th century.

Its features are revealed by comparison with the art of the Renaissance. The Renaissance was distinguished by an idyllic, cheerful idea of man and the fusion of the personal and the public in him, since the personal and the social were not yet dismembered. The art of the 17th century is permeated with tragic humanism, proceeding from the idea of the struggle of antagonisms in the inner world of man, from the idea of the social conditioning of the individual. Therefore, the literature of the 17th century more closely reproduces the social reality of the era; This is the century of the growth of journalistic genres, the formation of a professional literary environment, and periodicals. The literary process of the 17th century is characterized by great ramifications; For the first time, literary movements are so clearly distinguished, each with its own program and organizational centers.

Two artistic movements define the literature of the 17th century: classicism and baroque. There was a constant, sometimes very heated debate between them, but it is important to emphasize their deep similarity. Both directions arise as a reaction to the humanism of the Renaissance, as an understanding of its results; both strive for an intelligible ideal harmony of existence, but at the same time paradoxically perceive the world as disharmony, for the first time they separate reason and passion; Both directions are characterized by monumentality, high moral pathos, and intense beating of thought.

Baroque is imbued with an inspiring belief in the absolute reality of the spiritual - that is why the abundance and dynamics of baroque, its sociocentrism and increased attention to the actual artistic side lead to amazing objectivity, clarity of works of baroque art, to the depiction in it of the living fullness of being. Previously, these features of Baroque were interpreted as “Baroque realism,” but in fact, Baroque is aimed at comprehending the intangible, spiritual, and miraculous. Baroque combines tragedy and an extremely joyful attitude towards life, and this integrity of attitude towards life allows us to speak of baroque as a totally religious art, resorting to symbolism to express the divine meaning of existence. This new artistic vision gave rise to new stylistic features: increased expressiveness, a combination of the irrational and sensual, allegorism, entertainment, theatricality. If for the Renaissance masters art was a faithful mirror placed in front of good nature, then for the Baroque artists nature is unknowable, which means that all the mirrors of art provide only unsteady, changeable images of reality. The most characteristic metaphor of the Baroque is the pavilion of the sorceress Armida, the walls of which are constantly overturning mirrors, in which a new image of the surrounding world appears each time. In the Baroque, which affirmed the idea of an irrational world, there is a strong rationalist current: fatal evil must be resisted by the power of reason, and here is another point of contact between the Baroque and classicism.

Classicism is the leading direction in the literature of the 17th century. It originated at the beginning of the 16th century in Italy, among university scientists who created their own works according to the laws of Aristotle’s “Poetics” that they had just read anew. Gradually, from Italy, classicism spread to other European countries and reached its highest flowering in the 17th century in France, where in 1674 Nicolas Boileau published the poetic treatise “The Art of Poetry,” which became an indisputable set of requirements for literature for a century and a half.

Often the main feature of classicism is called normativity, the requirement for artists to follow all the norms and rules of the classicist doctrine. But Boileau only generalized and elegantly, aphoristically formulated the rules that had developed long before him; Moreover, as can be seen from his poem itself, in practice these laws were not followed exactly by even the most praised literary classicists. Normativity should be understood as a consequence of the absence in classicism of historical thinking and absolute reliance on reason. The classicists believed that eternal and unchangeable laws of reason, common to all mankind, give rise to “good taste” in the sphere of beauty; it has already been embodied in an exemplary and unsurpassed manner in the practice of ancient art, and its laws are theoretically formulated in Aristotle’s “Poetics”.

Since there are eternal and unchanging laws of creativity, then the artist can only strictly follow them, study them, again with the help of reason, and at the same time suppress the whims of his imagination. Art depicts reality as it should be from the standpoint of reason - in other words, classicism does not depict life as it is, but paints an ideal. Life should appear ennobled and beautiful in a work of art, but aesthetic pleasure is not an end in itself - classicists understand it as the strongest means of influencing a person, a path to the improvement of human nature, the education of morals, and, therefore, the most important function of art is to contribute to the improvement of society. Therefore, classicists paid special attention to theatrical art, which in the 17th century had no rivals in terms of audience reach. Work for the theater had a special social significance - hence the flourishing of drama in the era of classicism.

The simplified approach reduced all these principles of classicism to one thing - the requirement to imitate ancient authors, to reproduce the system of ancient literature. But fidelity to the spirit of antiquity did not mean, of course, simply repeating ancient models: the classicists learned from ancient authors, but they also absorbed the lessons of the Renaissance, and their main role model was still the ideal of nature. The rationalism underlying classicism led to the development of a strict hierarchy of genres, dividing them, depending on the material of the image and the language used, into “high” and “low”, and mixing genres was not allowed. Both among the “high” genres (epic, tragedy, ode) and among the “low” (satire, fable, comedy), dramatic genres, that is, tragedy and comedy, took precedence in French classicism.

Literature

Bolshakov V. French drama of the first half of the 17th century and the worldview of the New Age. Orekhovo-Zuevo, 1992.
Bordonov J. Moliere. M., 1983.
Boyadzhiev G. N. Moliere. Historical ways of forming the genre of high comedy. M., 1967.
Bulgakov M. A. The Life of Mister de Moliere. M., 1991.
Leonov S. A. Literature of classicism in school study. M., 1997.
Literary manifestos of Western European classicists. M., 1980.
Oblomievsky D. D. French classicism. M., 1968.
Segal N. Pierre Corneille. M., 1957.

The European direction of classicism was based on the ideas of rationalism and the canons of ancient art. It presupposes strict rules for creating a work of art, which give it conciseness and logic. Attention is paid only to a clear elaboration of the main part, without being scattered on the details. The priority goal of this direction is to fulfill the social and educational function of art.

The formation of classicism occurs in each united territory, but in different time periods. The need for this direction is felt during the historical period of transition from feudal fragmentation to territorial statehood under an absolute monarchy. In Europe, the emergence of classicism occurred primarily in Italy, but one cannot fail to note the significant influence of the emerging French and English bourgeoisie.

Classicism in painting

(Giovanni Battista Tiepolo "Cleopatra's Feast")

In their creative searches, sculptors and artists turned to ancient art and transferred its features into their works. This generated a wave of public interest in art. Despite the fact that the views of classicism imply a natural depiction of everything that is presented in the picture, the masters of the Renaissance, like ancient creators, idealized human figures. The people depicted in the paintings are more like sculptures: they “freeze” in eloquent poses, male bodies are athletic, and female figures are hyperbolically feminine, even the elderly heroes have taut and elastic skin. This trend, borrowed from ancient Greek sculptors, is explained by the fact that in ancient times man was presented as an ideal creation of God without flaws or shortcomings.

(Claude Lorrain "Afternoon. Rest on the Flight to Egypt")

Ancient mythology also had a significant impact on the development of style. At the initial stages it was expressed literally, in the form of mythical plots. Over time, the manifestations became more veiled: mythology was represented by ancient buildings, creatures or objects. The late period was marked by a symbolistic interpretation of myths: through individual elements, artists conveyed their own thoughts, emotions and moods.

(Fyodor Mikhailovich Matveev "View of Rome. Colosseum")

The function of classicism in the bosom of world artistic culture is moral public education, the formation of ethical norms and rules. The regulation of creative laws established a strict hierarchy of genres, each of which contained formal boundaries:

Low(still life, landscape, portrait);
High(historical, mythological, religious).

(Nicolas Poussin "The Arcadian Shepherds")

The founder of the style is considered to be the painter Nicolas Poussin. His works are built on sublime philosophical subjects. From a technical point of view, the structure of the paintings is harmonious and complemented by rhythmic coloring. Vivid examples of the master’s works: “The Finding of Moses”, “Rinaldo and Armida”, “The Death of Germanicus” and “The Arcadian Shepherds”.

(Ivan Petrovich Argunov "Portrait of an unknown woman in a dark blue dress")

In Russian art of classicism, portrait images predominate. Admirers of this style are A. Agrunov, A. Antropov, D. Levitsky, O. Kiprensky, F. Rokotov.

Classicism in architecture

The fundamental features of the style are clarity of lines, clear, uncomplicated forms, and lack of abundance of details. Classicism sought to rationally use every square meter of space. Over time, the style was influenced by different cultures and worldviews of masters from all over Europe. In the architecture of classicism, the following directions are distinguished:

Palladianism

The initial form of manifestation of classicism, the founder of which is considered to be the architect Andrea Palladio. The absolute symmetry of the buildings reveals the spirit of the architecture of Ancient Greece and Rome;

empire style

The direction of high (late) classicism, the birthplace of which is considered to be France during the reign of Napoleon I. The royal style combines theatricality and classical elements (columns, stucco molding, pilasters), arranged in accordance with clear rules and perspective;

neo-Greek

The "return" of ancient Greek imagery with features of the Italian Renaissance in the 1820s. The founders of the direction are Henri Labrouste and Leo von Klenze. The uniqueness lies in the detailed reproduction of classics on parliament buildings, museums, and churches;

regency style

In 1810-1830 A style developed that combined classical trends with French design. Particular attention is paid to the decoration of the facades: geometrically correct patterns and ornaments of the walls are complemented by decorated window openings. The emphasis is on the decorative elements framing the front door.

(Stupinigi - country residence of the monarchs of the House of Savoy, province of Turin, Italy)

The main features of classicism in architecture:

Majestic simplicity;
Minimum number of parts;
Laconicism and rigor of both external and internal decoration of buildings;
A dim color palette dominated by milky, beige, and light gray shades;
High ceilings decorated with stucco;
The interior included items exclusively with a functional purpose;
Decorative elements used were regal columns, arches, exquisite stained glass windows, openwork railings, lamps, carved fireplace grates, and light curtains made of simple materials.

(Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow)

Classicism is recognized as one of the most widespread styles throughout the world. In Europe, the vector of development of this trend was influenced by the works of the masters Palladio and Scamozzi. And in France, the architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot was the author of structural solutions basic to the style. Germany acquired several administrative buildings in the classical style thanks to the masters Leo von Klenze and Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Andreyan Zakharov, Andrey Voronikhin and Karl Rossi made an invaluable contribution to the development of this direction in Russia.

Conclusion

The era of classicism left behind many magnificent creations of artists and architects, which can be seen throughout Europe to this day. The most large-scale projects of the late 17th and early 19th centuries took place under the auspices of classicism: city parks, resorts, and even new cities were rebuilt. By the 20s of the 19th century, the strict style was diluted with elements of luxurious Baroque and Renaissance.

The emergence of classicism occurred in the context of a scientific revolution, which radically changed the picture of nature. Now attention was turned to the general orderliness of nature, subordination to eternal principles and laws. The art of classicism tried to develop some eternal, unshakable principles, general rules of creativity. Therefore, it was not inspiration, but the accuracy of artistic design and composition that was valued by the masters of this style.

Classicism finally emerged as a definite artistic system in the 17th century, although the name “classicism” itself was born in the 19th century, when the romantics declared war on the epigones of this artistic style. Classicism embodied the orientation of art towards ancient examples. However, loyalty to the spirit of antiquity did not mean for the classicists simply repeating ancient models and directly copying ancient theories. Classicism of the 17th century. He showed himself most fully in France, although he did not exhaust the entire diversity of art in this country.

Classicism (from Latin classicus - exemplary, first-class) Formal features of classicism architecture:
- the horizontal prevails over the vertical;
usually a three-part division of the façade with a reinforced central projection;
gravity of shapes towards a square, circle, semi-circular arch
French classicism of the 17th century. represented by its chief representative
N. Boileau was influenced by the rationalism of Descartes and set reason, more precisely, reason and even common sense, as the main principle for any work of art, and thereby excluded any fantasy and demanded the triumph of ideas and duty over sensual aspirations in man.

The heyday of French art was separated from the Renaissance by a dark and tragic era. It was the time of the civil war of 1562-1594. The events of this dramatic era were reflected in his engravings by Jacques Callot (1593-1635). Callot was born in Lorraine, which had recently become part of the French kingdom, and worked in Rome and Florence. Among Callot's works there are about one and a half thousand sheets. Callot loved to produce a series of engravings united by a single plot. The early period of his work includes the Capricci series, consisting of fifty miniature sheets, slightly larger than a matchbox. The sheets present scenes of city life. Callot's masterpiece - his "Fair in Impruneta" - is a rare large-sized engraving for him. Callot always depicted a large number of characters, choosing a top-down view, separating a few foreground figures from the crowd. In the series “Bally di Sfessania” Callo depicted the commedia dell’arte masks that were popular at that time. Callot's etchings had a great influence on the development of the landscape genre, among the most famous are “Quarry in Nancy”, “View of the Louvre” from the series “Grand Views of Paris”. The Great Disasters of War series depicts the invasion of Lorraine by Louis XIII's troops. Callot's skill is masterly. He covered his boards with a hard varnish, the line along which, after etching, was clear. This allowed Callot to draw the finest details of the image with the finest lines.

Poussin - the most Italian master among French artists

Classicism painting

Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) was born in the vicinity of the Norman town of Andely. Once in Paris, Poussin becomes acquainted with the art of antiquity and Raphael. In 1624, Poussin found himself in Rome and lived there for 40 years. Alien to the impulsiveness and imbalance of the Baroque, Poussin saw in painting an opportunity to express thoughts and looked for ways to create a style of great public sound, art that touched upon universal human problems and philosophical issues. This style had to be deeply thought out and consistently logical. Poussin limited himself to historical painting because he was looking for ideals of citizenship. He gave the created images a generalized character, drawing plots from ancient mythology and historical legends. Antique subjects and images will become characteristic of classicism, and then academicism in painting.

Poussin's drawing is minted, as in an antique relief. Color is usually based on pure local colors, among which the main role is played by indecomposable simple colors - blue, red, yellow. The light is always diffused and even. The nuance is stingy. At the end of the 20s. he writes “The Death of Germanicus”, and soon “The Kingdom of Flora*, where the figures and groups from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses*” were united in a complex composition.
Claude Lorrain (1600-1682) was from Lorraine, but lived his life in Rome; he was in love with the nature of Italy. In most landscapes he conveyed air, light, and depth of space.

In nature, Lorren saw harmony, peace and perfection. This is where his commitment to classicism is manifested.
Classicism from the middle of the 17th century. became the leading style of the French Academy. In its official version, it lost its philosophical depth, lost its emotional strength, while retaining rationality and disregard for concrete reality. The balance of the composition, the clarity of the drawing, the sculptural modeling of forms, the locality of color have become cliches of academic painting.

On February 17, 1648, the Academy of Arts opened; in 1655, the royal authorities took control of the Academy. Since that time, pomp has increased; only historical painting is recognized as high art.
Charles Lebrun (1619-1690) - one of the founders of the Academy. After studying with Poussin for four years, in 1662 he received the title of first painter to the king, in 1664 he became president of the Academy and took charge of the construction of Versailles. Lebrun's eclecticism lies in the replacement of human ideals with official cliches from the court arsenal, in banalities and excessiveness of allegories.

Rizalit - (from Italian rizalita - protrusion) - part of the building protruding beyond the main line of the facade, usually located symmetrically with respect to the central axis.
The French park is a variant of a regular park, which is characterized by straight alleys designed for perspective viewing. Ponds of regular shape. The alleys are lined with clippings in the form of balls, cones, etc. trees and bushes

Classicism architecture

The idea of the triumph of a centralized state is expressed in monumental images of architecture, which for the first time solves the problem of an architectural ensemble. New artistic features of architecture are manifested in the use of the order system, in the holistic construction of volumes and compositions of buildings, in the establishment of strict regularity, order and symmetry, combined with a desire for huge spatial solutions, including ceremonial park ensembles.

In the second half of the 17th century. France was the strongest feudal-absolutist power in Western Europe.
Construction and control over it are concentrated in the hands of the state. The position of “architect to the king” is introduced. Urban planning work is taking place throughout the country. New cities are planned in the form of a rectangle or in the form of five-, six-, and octagons formed by defensive structures. Inside there is a strictly regular rectangular or radial-ring system of streets with a square in the center. In Paris on the left and
On the right banks of the Seine, the palace complexes of the Luxembourg Palace and the Palais Royal were built, and the square Royal and triangular Dauphine Square were created on the western part of the Ile de la Cité.

Second half of the 17th century. - the time of the highest flowering of French classicism architecture. At this time, the social role of architecture became especially pronounced. Of great importance was the formation of the Academy of Architecture, whose task was to develop the basic aesthetic norms and criteria for the architecture of classicism.
Classicism in architecture is characterized by: the predominance of horizontal divisions over vertical ones, a single roof, often hidden by a balustrade, and a simple composition. Mature features of classicism are manifested in the country ensemble of the palace and park of Vaux-le-Vicomte near Melun (1655-1661). Its creators are the architect Louis Levo and the master of landscape ensembles Andre Le Nôtre, the painter Charles Lebrun. The novelty of the architectural design in Vaux-le-Vicomte was that the palace was located between the courtyard and the garden. An important part of the planning solution was the perspective opening from the palace through the courtyard, then through the vestibule into the large salon, and from there into the park. Later, this principle of organizing space will form the basis of the planning decisions of Versailles. The compositional center not only of the palace, but of the entire ensemble, became a large oval hall, located at the intersection of the main planning axes of the ensemble. A large order of pilasters spans two floors.

The art of French classicism. The main architectural monument of French absolutism was Versailles, the reconstruction of which was started by Levo during the reign of Cardinal Mazarin.

Bosquet (fr. bosquet - forest, grove) - a row forming a wall, planted closely, evenly
trimmed trees or shrubs.
Desudéporte (French dessus de porte, from dessus - top) is a picturesque sculptural or carved composition of a decorative nature, located above the door and being an organic part of the interior.

Pergola (Italian Pergola - extension, canopy) - a gazebo or structure consisting of arches or paired pillars placed one after another, wooden battens connected at the top, lined with climbing plants located along the paths of parks and gardens
Versailles was completed in 1679 by the largest architect of the 17th century. Jules Harduzne-Mansart (1646-1708), according to whose designs Place Louis the Great (later Place Vendôme) and Place des Victories were also built.

Three wide straight radial avenues of the city converge at the Palace of Versailles, located on a high terrace, forming a trident, the middle avenue of which leads to Paris, the other two to the royal palaces. The king's bedroom was located in the center of the palace chambers, stretching strictly along the east-west axis; this corresponded to the daily routine of the Sun King and his entourage. The rooms in the south were intended for the queen, in the north - for the courtiers. The northern and southern wings of the courtyard form the second royal courtyard. With these buildings, Mansar complemented the three-tiered core of the palace surrounding the original Marble Courtyard. The facade stretched for more than 640 m, the lower tier supported the second floor with Ionic columns, Ionic pilasters flanking the high windows. The upper tier is topped with an attic.
The mirror gallery of Versailles stretched for 70 m, the War and Peace halls adjoined it, creating a suite of so-called “large apartments”. Almost all the interiors of the palace were made by Lebrun, for which he hired the largest specialists in finishing work. A special impression was created by the light pouring from the windows, reflected in many mirrors.
Baroque motifs are used in the interiors of the palace. These are round and oval medallions, ornamental fillings above the doors and in the walls, the use of valuable types of wood, bronze, many mirrors, and the widespread use of sculpture and painting in interior design.

The Park of Versailles was created by Andre Le Nôtre (1613-1700) in accordance with the principles of classicism; it is characterized by strict symmetry and clarity of composition. A main alley was laid from the palace, which was crossed at right angles by transverse alleys, forming rectangular or square bosquets and parterres. All trees and shrubs are planted in continuous rows and turned into three-dimensional geometric shapes by the skill of the gardeners. The park is divided into three parts: the first zone was the Small Park, in which the road through the parterres led to the Apollo Pond. The next zone was 10 times larger. It was called "Big Park". The third zone included hunting grounds and villages. A viaduct was built to install water parterres and fountains. The park of Versailles had ceremonial significance and served as a backdrop for numerous court festivities. Next to the greenhouse designed by J. Hardouin-Mansart, the Trianon was built - a secluded meeting place for the king and his favorites. The building was inconvenient, so in 1687-1688. it was succeeded by the Grand Trianon, built by Hardouin-Mansart. 80 years later, Louis XV ordered the construction of the Petit Trianon for the Marquise of Pompadour. Jacques Gabriel, a student of Mansart, gave it the appearance of a Palladian villa.

Enfilade (French enfilade, from enfiler - to string on a thread) is a series of rooms located one after another, the doorways of which are located along the same axis.

The Versailles park was decorated with sculptures by François Girardon (1628-1715) “The Rape of Proserpine” and “The Bath of Apollo”. In the Bath of Apollo, Girardon depicted the central figure based on the statue of Apollo Belvedere. “The Abduction of Proserpina,” one of four abduction themes conceived by Lebrun, represents the ancient myth of the abduction of Proserpina, daughter of Jupiter and Ceres, by Pluto. The sculptor's skill was manifested in conveying the tension of the struggle. Girardon is the author of the monument to Louis XIV, installed on Place Vendôme.
Antoine Coysevox (1640-1720) - a younger contemporary of Girardon, became a royal sculptor in 1666 and worked on the decoration of the Versailles palace and park together with Mansart. Among his works are allegorical sculptures of Strength, Abundance, to decorate the hall.

During the war, he made ground and silver desudeportes, above the fireplace there was a huge stucco bas-relief depicting the Triumph of the King, for the park Coisevox made copies of the ancient sculptures “Nymph with a Shell”, “Venus de Medici”, “Squatting Venus”, “Castor and Pollux”. For the Marly Palace, he made the famous equestrian statues “Mercury on Pegasus” and “Victoria on Pegasus”. He owns a huge statue of the king, portraits of his friends Lebrun, Moliere and patrons Colbert, Mazarin (more than fifty busts in total).

F. Girardon. Bathing nymphs.

Pierre Puget (1620-1694) worked in Toulon, Marseille, and Paris. Puget's greatest work, the project to rebuild Marseille, remained unfinished. Full recognition of Puget's work came only after his death.
Baroque and classicism did not exhaust all the diversity and complexity of the creative aspirations of the era. Important, and in many cases decisive, in the artistic culture of the 17th century. acquired tendencies associated primarily with easel forms of art, especially painting, in direct contact with life, with nature, with the depiction of reality as it is actually seen by a person.
The 17th century was a time of differentiation of various genres of painting. Each national school had its own preferred genres and trends.

ClassicismXVIIV. And enlightenment classicism (beg.XVIIV.). The era of absolutism in France under LouisXIV. Classicism is civil (traditions of Roman antiquity) and academic (court, associated with the Baroque). Strictness and geometric symmetry of classical forms, strict artistic canon, restraint. The primacy of duty over feeling, mind over heart. Sublime and heroic, glorifying images of courage and civil patriotism. Turning to antiquity for similar examples (Poussin). The idea of the harmony of art with nature. Arcadian scenes by Poussin and Lorrain.

French art of the 17th century

The 17th century was the time of the formation of a unified French state, the French nation. In the second half of the century, France is the most powerful absolutist power in Western Europe. This was also the time of the formation of the French national school in fine arts, the formation of the classicist movement, the birthplace of which France is rightfully considered.

French art of the 17th century. is based on the traditions of the French Renaissance. In the field of fine arts, the process of formation of classicism was not so uniform.

In architecture, the first features of a new style are outlined. In the Luxembourg Palace, built for the widow of Henry IV, regent Marie de Medici (1615-1621), by Salomon de Brosse, much was taken from Gothic and Renaissance, but the facade is already divided into an order, which would be characteristic of classicism.

In painting and graphics, the situation was more complicated, because the influences of Mannerism, Flemish and Italian Baroque were intertwined here. The work of the remarkable draftsman and engraver Jacques Callot (1593-1635), who completed his education in Italy and returned to his native Lorraine only in 1621, clearly experienced a noticeable influence of Marierism; the most famous works are two series of etchings “Disasters of War” (we are talking about 30 Years' War)

Merciless pictures of death, violence, looting.

The influence of Dutch art is clearly visible in the work of the painters of the Lenain brothers, especially Louis Lenain. Louis Le Nain (1593-1648) depicts peasants without pastoralism, without rural exoticism, without falling into sweetness and tenderness.

Georges de Latour (1593-1652). In his first works on genre themes, Latour appears as an artist close to Caravaggio (“Rounder”, “Fortune Teller”).

Already in his early works one of the most important qualities of Latour is manifested: the inexhaustible variety of his images, the splendor of color, the ability to create monumentally significant images in genre painting.

The second half of the 30s and 40s was the time of Latour’s creative maturity. During this period, he turned less to genre subjects and painted mainly religious paintings. Latour's artistic language is a harbinger of the classicist style: rigor, constructive clarity, clarity of composition, plastic balance of generalized forms, impeccable integrity of the silhouette, statics.

Classicism arose on the crest of the social upsurge of the French nation and the French state. The basis of the theory of classicism was rationalism, based on the philosophical system of Descartes, the subject of art of classicism was proclaimed only the beautiful and sublime, and antiquity served as the ethical and aesthetic ideal.

The creator of the classicist movement in French painting in the 17th century. became Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665). The themes of Poussin's paintings are varied: mythology, history, New and Old Testaments. Poussin's heroes are people of strong characters and majestic actions, a high sense of duty to society and the state.

Measure and order, compositional balance become the basis of a pictorial work of classicism. Smooth and clear linear rhythm, statuary plasticity, what in the language of art historians is called the “linear-plastic principle”, perfectly convey the severity and majesty of ideas and characters. The coloring is based on the consonance of strong, deep tones. These are the "Death of Germanicus"

"Tancred and Erminia".

The painting “Tancred and Erminia” is devoid of direct illustrativeness. The composition is strictly balanced. The form is created primarily by line, contour, and light and shadow modeling. Everything is poetic and sublime, measure and order reign in everything.

The unity of man and nature, a happy, harmonious worldview are characteristic of his paintings “The Kingdom of Flora” (1632),

"Sleeping Venus"

"Venus and the Satyrs".

In his bacchanalia there is no Titian's sensual joy of being, the sensual element here is covered in chastity, the elemental principle has been replaced by orderliness, elements of logic, consciousness of the invincible power of reason, everything has acquired the features of heroic, sublime beauty.

The first period of Poussin’s work ends when the theme of death, frailty and the vanity of the earthly breaks into his bucolicly interpreted themes. This new mood is beautifully expressed in his “Arcadian Shepherds”.

From the late 40s to the 50s, Poussin's color scheme, built on several local colors, became increasingly sparing. The main emphasis is on drawing, sculptural forms, and plastic completeness. The lyrical spontaneity leaves the paintings, and a certain coldness and abstraction appears. The best works of the late Poussin remain his landscapes. Poussin was the creator of the classical ideal landscape in its heroic form. Poussin’s heroic landscape (like any classic landscape) is not real nature, but “improved” nature, composed by the artist. Around 1648, Poussin writes “Landscape with Polyphemus”

where the sense of harmony of the world, close to ancient myth, perhaps manifested itself most clearly and directly. In the last years of his life, Poussin created a wonderful cycle of paintings “The Seasons” (1660-1665), which undoubtedly has a symbolic meaning and personifies the periods of earthly human existence.

The lyrical line of the classic idealized landscape was developed in the work of Claude Lorrain (1600-1682). Lorrain's landscape usually includes motifs of the sea, ancient ruins, large clumps of trees, among which are small figures of people. Each time, Lorrain’s paintings express a different sense of nature, colored with great emotionality. This is achieved primarily by lighting. Air and light are the strongest aspects of Lorren's talent.

Both artists lived in Italy, far from the main customer of art - the court. A different art flourished in Paris - official, ceremonial, created by artists such as Simon Vouet (1590-1649). The decorative, festive, solemn art of Vouet is eclectic, because it combined the pathos of Baroque art with the rationality of classicism. But it was a great success at court and contributed to the formation of an entire school.

From the beginning of the independent reign of Louis XIV, i.e. from the 60s of the 17th century, a very important process of regulation, complete subordination and control by the royal authorities took place in art. Created back in 1648 Academy of Painting and Sculpture is now under the official jurisdiction of the king's first minister. Founded in 1671 Academy of Architecture. Control is established over all types of artistic life. Classicism officially becomes the leading style of all art.

The genre of painting is also developing, which, as if by its very specificity, is the farthest from unification - the genre of portraiture. This is, of course, a ceremonial portrait. In the first half of the century, the portrait was monumental, majestic, but also simple in accessories, as in the painting of Philippe de Champaigne (1602-1674). In the second half of the century, expressing the general trends in the development of art, the portrait became more and more magnificent. These are complex allegorical portraits. Pierre Mignard (1612-1695) - predominantly female. Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659-1743) became especially famous for his portraits of the king. The most interesting in terms of color scheme were the portraits of Nicolas Largilliere (1656-1746).

At the end of the reign of Louis XIV, new trends, new features appeared in the art of the “grand style”, and the art of the 18th century. we have to develop in a different direction.