What is Classicism?
What is classicism? The concept of “classicism” is applicable to almost all forms of art. It is found in architecture, in music, in literature, in painting. Therefore, the question of what is classicism, we will respond depending on what kind of art is meant. If to speak in general, what is classicism – the definition in this case will be the following: it is an artistic style or system that dominated Europe for two centuries – from the XVII to the XIX century. In fact – this is a whole era. And now let’s talk classicism through the prism of certain types of art. What is classicism in literature? Literary classicism originates from the ideas of the Enlightenment, which prevailed in Europe in the XVI-XVII centuries.
In works written in the spirit of classicism, the reader will find the praise of freedom, calls for liberation from religious tyranny and oppression of absolute monarchy. Writers of the era of classicism in their writings expressed
With regard to specific time frames, then ideally the action of a play or novel, written in the spirit of classicism, should unfold in one day. Of the Western authors, whose works are attributed to this style, we will single out Corneille, Racine, Lafontaine, Moliere, Boileau, Voltaire, Samuel Johnson, Boswell and Gibbon. In Russia, the most outstanding representatives of classicism were such outstanding writers as AP Sumarokov, DI Fonvizin, MV Lomonosov, GR Derzhavin and AD Kantemir. What is Classicism in Music First of all, let’s distinguish between such concepts as “classical music”
But more than real people who created in the spirit of musical classicism. This is, above all, such outstanding composers as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, who in music circles are often called “Viennese classics.” It was they who determined the further development of music for many years to come. It was their ideas that were subsequently used by many famous composers who wrote music in a more modern romantic style. Classicism in architecture Monumentality, rigor, simplicity, logically built structure and harmony – with the help of these words it is possible to characterize the architectural structures bearing the stamp of classicism.
This style leads its history from ancient times, more precisely – since antiquity. At that time, they built this way. Architectural classicism came to Europe to replace the pretentious style of baroque. In Russia, classicism flourished in full in the middle of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The most striking European monuments of the era of classicism are, in fact, entire cities – St. Petersburg, Helsinki and Warsaw.