neoclassicism
Americannoun
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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.
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Sometimes Neoclassicism stylistic principles that attempt to revive classical Greek or Roman aesthetics or philosophy in art, literature, etc.
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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.
noun
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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
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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
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing neoclassicism
Art History
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Understanding Literary Forms: The Oral Tradition & Analyze Literature
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That museum’s architecture is a very strange hybrid of Neoclassicism.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2021
In contrast, Neoclassical paintings did not gain much when moved back to 1600, which is understandable, because Neoclassicism is considered a revival of the Renaissance.
From Time • Jul. 31, 2015
In addition, one of my current areas of research is contemporary schools of thought, for example, Neoclassicism, Austrianism, Post Keynesianism, Marxism, Institutionalism, and Feminism.
From Forbes • Feb. 2, 2015
Disapproval of Tiepolo was high-toned; his work did not accord with the moralizing grandeur of a later Neoclassicism, still less with the assumptions of Realism.
From Time Magazine Archive
He stopped the car to stare thoughtfully at the little park behind the grimy monument to Neoclassicism.
From The Most Sentimental Man by Smith, Evelyn E.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
