Neoclassicism and academicism in painting

By the end of the XVIII century. classicism in each European country received a specific form that corresponded to one or another social conditions and specific historical circumstances. In the countries of Western Europe, classicism existed for an unusually long time, at least two and a half centuries, and then, changing, manifested itself in the neoclassical currents of the 19th and 20th centuries. The spreading ideas of the Enlightenment found their expression in a style called “neoclassicism” (“new classicism”). In the depths of classicism, a new direction arose – romanticism.

Strict adherence to classical forms, plots and images on historical, mythological and biblical themes led to the flourishing of academism (fr. Academisme) – an artistic direction associated with the activities of art academies. The main content of academic art was the glorification of the dominant system and the ruling power, and therefore preference was given to monumental forms and idealization of the depicted. A strictly regulated learning system required an accurate reproduction of “ideal beauty” corresponding to the given classical patterns.

However, as new trends in art emerged, academicism, with its invariable norms and classical understanding of beauty, began to clash, and then openly conflict with new aesthetic views. The academic system, which once played a positive role in the professional education of talented artists, has become a method divorced from life and social practice. Gradually, academicism completely lost the ability to influence the development of artistic creativity.