An eighteenth- and nineteenth-century artistic movement that renewed the forms, subjects, restraint, and ideals associated with ancient Greek and Roman art.
Neoclassicism is an artistic movement that developed in Europe and America from the mid-eighteenth into the nineteenth century, drawing heavily upon the art and archaeology of ancient Greece and Rome. It emerged partly in reaction to Rococo ornament and was characterized by clarity, symmetry, controlled expression, and renewed attention to classical subjects and forms.
In sculpture, Neoclassicism is especially associated with artists such as Antonio Canova, whose marble figures combine classical prototypes with highly refined carving and surface treatment. The movement also renewed the prestige of the ideal nude, portrait bust, mythological figure, and monumental civic sculpture.
Etymology
From Greek neos, “new,” combined with classicism, referring to a renewed engagement with classical antiquity.
Sculptor Notes
Neoclassical sculpture is often reduced to smoothness and imitation of antiquity, but its strongest work depends on disciplined composition, measured silhouette, anatomical clarity, controlled gesture, and an exact understanding of how marble carries light.
References
https://www.getty.edu/vow/AATFullDisplay?subjectid=300021477; https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/antonio-canova-1757-1822