Neoclassical art came to fore between the mid-eighteenth through the early nineteenth centuries and was fueled by, first, a reaction against Baroque excesses. People tired of the circular, twisted, curved, and melodramatic, and began to imitate the restraint, balance, and harmony they perceived in the art of Ancient Greek and Rome (Classical art).
A second influence was the excavation of the Roman sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii (1738-1750), which created a vogue for art that imitated the finds in these two places.
Neoclassical art also emphasized heroic scenes and people, moving away from the sensuality emphasized by the Baroque. It was more ordered than the sometimes whimsical art of the Baroque period. Unlike the Romantic movement that would follow, it was far more apt to feature people of noble lineage or idealized shepherds than depict ordinary people from the contemporary world.
In sum, Neoclassical art is characterized by first, imitating Greek and Roman models, second, by order, harmony, balance, and restraint, and third, by an emphasis on the heroic rather than the sensual.
The most key aspect of neoclassical art is its revival of classical motifs and subjects. "Neoclassical" means "new classical," referring to Greek and Roman classicism, or antiquity.
Neoclassical painting emphasizes "line over colour [sic]" and "straight lines over curves." It resurrects the idealized forms, usually used to portray the gods in classical and Hellenistic sculpture, to portray both grand historical figures (e.g., Jacques Louis-David's Oath of the Horatii) and contemporary figures (e.g., Ingres's Grande Odalisque).
Unlike Romanticism, which was a concurrent artistic movement, neoclassicism de-emphasized emotion and encouraged restraint. Figures in the paintings are usually not very expressive, brushstrokes are long, images are carefully formed, and colors are usually muted.
You can summarize the three aspects as follows:
1. Straight lines over curves
2. More muted colors
3. Grandeur and restraint over emotion
https://www.britannica.com/art/Neoclassicism
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