1. A look at how Neoclassical works serve different expressions of
Revolution
VIVA LA
REVOLUCION!

2. American Revolution
Revolt against what are
considered tyrranical British
forces
Revolt for American
Independence
American expression of the
Enlightenment will reject the
“inherent” power of Royal and
aristocratic authority
Jefferson, inspired by the French
Philosophes, uses Reason to
argue for freedom

3. Jefferson’s
Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia
 Based on pagan
temple design
 Pediment
 Hemispherical
dome
 Columns
 portico

4. Ancient Influence
Pantheon, Rome, Italy

5. Houdon’s George
Washington, 1788
 Stands in
Contrapposto but
is in contemporary
wardrobe
 Classical themes
support current
causes
 Refers to Roman
symbols of
authority

6. Women’s
Revolution
Call for women to be
included in the equality
of humankind
Call for participation in
the political process
Will lead to the
suffragette movement in
the 19th century

7.  Emphasizes REASON in
allowing women access to
the political process

8. Suffragettes
Elizabeth Cady Stanton

9. French Revolution
A bourgeoisie
revolt against
an oppressive
and corrupt
monarchy and
its supportive
aristocracy
Women’s March on
Versailles, 5-6 October
1789

10. Kauffmann’s Cornelia Pointing to Her Children
as Her Treasures, 1785
 An image of the
revolutionary
mother, one who
is willing to
sacrifice her sons
for the cause

11. David’s Oath of the Horatii, 1785
The message is one
of self-sacrifice
rather than self-
indulgence
A call to arms 4
years before the
Revolution

12. THESE REVOLUTIONS ARE OF
COURSE GIRDED BY THE
ENLIGHTENMENT AND
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

13. Scientific Revolution
Depends on detailed observation
(influenced by optics discoveries of the
Baroque age)
Diderot’s Encyclopédie is the
classification of “all” human
knowledge (in 28 volumes)
Reveals an optimistic belief in
mankind—that he can know
everything and list it
Influenced by Carolus Linnaeus,
who established the classification
system in biology
Denis Diderot’s Encyclopédie Title Page

14. Isaac Newton
Father of Newtonian Physics
Emphasizes Empiricism
Develops Theory of Gravity

15. Wright’s, An Experiment on a Bird in
the Air-Pump, 1768
In order to popularize
science, artists will show
scenes of the Scientific
Revolution in dramatic
and entertaining way
Dramatic lighting
influenced by the
Baroque period.
Message is that Science
brings light into a world
of political and social
darkeness

16. EMANCIPATION
“Revolution”
Enlightenment principles of
equality and freedom lead to the
call to emancipate black slaves
throughout the Western World
Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Belley, an
emancipated Haitian slave who led the
legislative campaign in France to abolish
Wedgwood supported the idea of slavery and grant black people full citizenship
gradual emancipation of slaves
in the colonies

17. The Point is:
 Neoclassical works react against the
excessiveness of the Rococo period, a
period in which the split between the poor
and wealthy brought about the need for
Revolution
 Neoclassical works use Greco-Roman
themes and figures to reveal a
contemporary message of
freedom, equality, and reason