Caractéristiques du Classicisme

Classicism, which spread throughout France during the reign of Louis XIV, sought a return to pure forms, to a so-called "classical" spirit. Artists were expected to study the great models of Antiquity and the Renaissance, as well as mathematics, perspective, and nature. Their work was to strive for perfection in color, proportion, and form, seeking a balanced and symmetrical composition. This emphasis on rules and rigor was even reflected in literature. Subjects were expected to be moral and to invite the reader to reflect. In 1634, Cardinal Richelieu founded the French Academy, whose primary mission was "to establish certain rules for our language and to make it pure, eloquent, and capable of addressing the arts and sciences." Classicism and Baroque have often been contrasted, as the former rejected passions (anger, jealousy, excessive ambition, etc.) unlike the latter. Yet there was no hostility between these two currents, which were able to coexist and even intertwine. This movement flourished in architecture, painting, sculpture, literature… drawing its subjects from Greco-Roman mythology or the Bible. ► Contents: 00:00 - Introduction 00:17 - Origin and Characteristics 02:17 - French Classicism 04:48 - Architecture 09:35 - Painting 11:20 - Garden Design 12:08 - Sculpture 14:00 - Literature Sources Books: The Louis XIV Style: The Grammar of Styles, Flammarion, Jean-François Barrielle Louis XIV, Jean-Christian Petitfils, Perrin Publishers Louis XIV: Grandeur and Trials, Jean-Christian Petitfils, Tallandier Publishers, Historia Collection History of Art: The Flourishing of Modern Art from the Baroque to the Present Day, edited by Albert Châtelet and Bernard Philippe Groslier, Larousse Publishers Articles: a. French Classicism (Wikipedia) b. Classicism (Grand Palais) c. What is classicism? (barnies.fr) d. Classical architecture (Wikipedia)