Neoclassical Artists
18th-Century Neoclassicist Painters, Sculptors, Architects.
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Jason with the Golden Fleece
(1803) by Bertel Thorvaldsen.
A Neoclassical masterpiece.

Neoclassical Artists (c.1750-1850)

Early Neoclassicism (pre-1750)

The whimsical Rococo style of art was eventually replaced by Neoclassical art, an antique style popularized in 1755 by the book Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works of Art, by the German historian Johann Winckelmann (1717-68). It became the signature visual style of both Napoleonic France and the American revolution. Early forms of Neoclassical architecture were created by Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) the designer of St Paul's Cathedral, and by other architects like Inigo Jones (1573-1652) and William Kent (1685-1748).

Neoclassical Architects

Neoclassicism originated in Paris, thanks largely to the presence of designers trained at the French Academy in Rome. Famous French Neoclassicist architects included: Jacques-Germain Soufflot (1713-80), who designed the Parisian Pantheon (1756-97); Claude Nicolas Ledoux (1736-1806), designer of the Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans (1773-93); and Jean Chalgrin, who designed the Arc de Triomphe (1806).


Oath of the Horatii (1785)
Louvre, Paris. An example of
neoclassical mythology painting
by Jacques-Louis David.

GREAT EUROPEAN PAINTERS
For biographies and paintings
of the greatest artists in Europe
from the Renaissance to 1800,
see: Old Masters: Top 100.


Death of Marat (1793)
Musees Royaux des Beaux Arts,
Brussels. Neoclassical-style
propagandist history painting
by Jacques-Louis David.

WORLDS TOP ARTISTS
For the greatest portraits
see: Best Portrait Artists.
For the top historical painting,
see: Best History Painters.

WORLD'S GREATEST ARTWORKS
For a list of the Top 10 painters/
sculptors: Best Artists of All Time.

EVOLUTION OF VISUAL ART
For details of art movements
and styles, see: History of Art.
For the chronology and dates
of key events in the evolution
of visual arts around the world
see: History of Art Timeline.

In England classicism was championed by Sir William Chambers, Robert Adam (1728-92), John Nash (1752-1835), Sir John Sloane (1753-1837), William Wilkins (1778-1839) and Sir Robert Smirke (1780-1867).

German Neoclassical architects included: Carl Gotthard Langhans (1732-1908) and Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781-1841), who both developed key sites in Berlin. See also German Art, 19th Century.

In Russia, Neoclassical architecture was exemplified by the Scottish architect Charles Cameron (c.1745–1812), and by Vincenzo Brenna (Cameron's pupil), Giacomo Quarenghi and Matvey Fyodorovich Kazakov.

In America, meanwhile, The United States Capitol Building was designed by English-born Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820), and later by Stephen Hallet and Charles Bulfinch. For more, see: Neoclassical Architecture.

Neoclassical Painters

The sternly heroic style of Neoclassical painting is exemplified by the German portraitist and historical painter Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-79), the political artist Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), and his pupil J.A.D. Ingres (1780-1867). For the latter's greatest neoclassical works, see: The Valpincon Bather (1808), La Grande Odalisque (1814), and Portrait of Madame Moitessier (1856).

In Britain, followers of Neoclassicism included the portraitist Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92), and the history painters James Barry (1741-1806) and Benjamin West (1738-1820). See also: Neoclassical portraits.

Neoclassical Sculptors

Neoclassical sculpture reflected a switch away from decadent Rococo towards an altogether sterner and more heroic style. Leading neoclassical sculptors included the Italian Antonio Canova (1757-1822), the Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) and the Frenchman Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828). In England, the style was taken up by Thomas Banks (1735-1805), John Flaxman (1755-1826) and Sir Richard Westmacott (1775-1856).

 

List of Neoclassical Artists

Among the many Neoclassical masters of architecture, painting, sculpture and other visual arts in the 17th/18th century, were the following:

Agasse, Jacques-Laurent (1767-1849) Swiss Painter (London)
Alenza Y Nieto, Leonardo (1807-1845) Spanish Painter (Madrid)
Álvarez Y Cubero, José (1768-1827) Spanish Sculptor
Appiani, Andrea (1754-1817) Italian Painter
Bacon, John (1740-1799) English Sculptor
Banks, Thomas (1735-1805) English Painter
Bartolini, Lorenzo (1777-1850) Italian Sculptor
Beaufort, Jacques-Antoine (1721-1784) French Painter
Bélanger, François-Joseph (1744-1818) French Architect (Paris)
Bergeret, Pierre-Nolasque (1782-1863) French Painter (Paris)
Berthélemy, Jean-Simon (1743-1811) French Painter (Paris)
Bertin, Jean-Victor (1767-1842) French Painter (Paris)
Bidauld, Jean-Joseph-Xavier (1758-1846) French Painter
Blondel, Merry-Joseph (1761-1853) French Painter (Paris)
Boizot, Simon-Louis (1743-1809) French Sculptor
Bonnassieux, Jean-Marie Bienaimé (1810-1892) French Sculptor
Borsato, Giuseppe (1770-1849) Italian Painter (Venice)
Bosio, François-Joseph (1768-1845) French Sculptor
Bouchardon, Edme (1698-1762) French Sculptor
Bury, Friedrich (1761-1823) German Painter
Calloigne, Jan Robert (1775-1830) French Sculptor
Campeny Y Estany, Damián (1771-1855) Spanish Sculptor
Canova, Antonio (1757-1822) Italian Sculptor
Cartellier, Pierre (1757-1831) French Sculptor
Causici, Enrico (1790-1835) Italian Sculptor (North America)
Cavelier, Jules (1814-1894) French Sculptor (Paris)
Chantrey, Sir Francis Legatt (1781-1841) English Sculptor
Chaudet, Denis-Antoine (1763-1810) French Sculptor
Chilone, Vincenzo (1758-1839) Italian Painter (Venice)
Chinard, Joseph (1756-1813) French Sculptor
Collot, Marie-Anne (1748-1821) French Sculptor
Coustou, Guillaume II (1716-1777) French Sculptor (Paris)
Dannecker, Heinrich (1758-1841) German Sculptor
David D'angers (1788-1856) French Sculptor
David, Jacques-Louis (1748-1825) French Painter
Delaistre, François-Nicolas (1746-1832) French Sculptor
Delaporte, Henri-Horace Roland (1724-1793) French Painter (Paris)
Donckt, François Van Der (1757-1813) Flemish Painter
Drouais, Jean-Germain (1763-1788) French Painter
Ducq, Joseph-François (1762-1829) Belgian Painter
Duvivier, Jan Bernard (1762-1837) Flemish Painter
Eckersberg, Christoffer Wilhelm (1783-1853) Danish Painter
Esquivel Y Suárez De Urbina, Antonio Maria (1806-1857) Spanish Painter
Esteve Y Marques, Agustín (1753-c.1820) Spanish Painter (Madrid)
Fabre, François-Xavier (1766-1837) French Painter
Ferenczy, István (1792-1856) Hungarian Sculptor
Flaxman, John (1755-1826) English Sculptor
Fragonard, Alexandre-Évariste (1780-1850) French Painter
Füger, Friedrich Heinrich (1751-1818) German Miniaturist (Vienna)
Gagneraux, Bénigne (1756-1795) French Painter (Italy)
Galli, Pietro (1804-1877) Italian Sculptor
Gandolfi, Gaetano (1734-1802) Italian Painter (Bologna)
Gandolfi, Ubaldo (1728-1781) Italian Painter (Bologna)
Garnier, Etienne-Barthélemy (1759-1849) French Painter (Paris)
Giani, Felice (1758-1823) Italian Painter
Gibson, John (1790-1866) English Sculptor
Girodet De Roucy-Trioson, Anne-Louis (1767-1824) French Painter
Granet, François-Marius (1755-1849) French Painter
Grassi, Józef (1757-1838) Austrian Painter
Gregorius, Albert (1774-1853) Belgian Painter
Gros, Antoine-Jean (1771-1835) French Painter
Guérin, Pierre-Narcisse (1774-1833) French Painter
Guillaume, Jean-Baptiste-Claude-Eugène (1822-1905) French Sculptor
Hackert, Georg Abraham (1755-1805) German Painter
Hagemann, Karl Friedrich (1773-1806) German Sculptor
Hamilton, Gavin (1748-1825) Scottish Painter
Haydon, Benjamin Robert (1786-1846) English Painter
Heim, François-Joseph (1787-1865) French Painter (Paris)
Hoechle, Johann Nepomuk (1790-1835) German Painter
Hoppner, John (1758-1810) English Painter (London)
Houdon, Jean-Antoine (1741-1828) French Realist Sculptor
Ingres, Jean-Auguste-Dominique (1780-1867) French Painter
Jacob, Georges (1739-1814) French Cabinet-Maker (Paris)
Jaley, Jean-Louis-Nicolas (1802-1866) French Sculptor (Paris)
Jerichau, Jens Adolph (1818-1883) Danish Sculptor
Jones, John (Active 1780-1791) English Graphic Artist (London)
Keller, Heinrich (1778-1862) Swiss Graphic Artist (Zurich)
Keller, Heinrich (1771-1832) Swiss Sculptor
Kiesling, Leopold (1770-1827) Austrian Sculptor
Knoller, Martin (1725-1804) Austrian Painter (Italy)
Kolbe, Carl Wilhelm (1759-1835) German Painter
Landi, Gaspare (1756-1830) Italian Painter
Langlois, Jérôme-Martin (1779-1838) French Painter
Lawrence, Sir Thomas (1769-1830) English Painter
Le Lorrain, Louis-Joseph (1715-1759) French Painter
Lebarbier, Jean-Jacques-François (1738-1826) French Painter (Paris)
Lecomte, Félix (1737-1817) French Sculptor (Paris)
Lefèvre, Robert (1755-1830) French Painter
Lemonnier, Anicet-Charles-Gabriel (1743-1824) French Painter
Lemot, François-Frédéric (1772-1827) French Sculptor
Leroy De Barde, Alexandre-Isidore (1777-1828) French Painter (London)
Lethière, Guillaume (1760-1832) French Painter
Machy, Pierre-Antoine De (1723-1807) French Painter (Paris)
Maella, Mariano Salvador De (1739-1819) Spanish Painter (Madrid)
Marlow, William (1740-1813) English Painter (London)
Maron, Anton Von (1733-1808) Austrian Painter (Rome)
Masson, François (1745-1807) French Sculptor
Massot, Firmin (1766-1849) Swiss Painter
Mengs, Anton Raphael (1728-79) German portraitist, court artist.
Messerschmidt, Franz Xaver (1736-1783) Austrian sculptor of portrait busts.
Michallon, Achille-Etna (1796-1822) French Painter (Paris)
Milhomme, François-Dominique-Aimé (1758-1823) French Sculptor
Moitte, Jean-Guillaume (1746-1810) French Sculptor
Mosnier, Jean-Laurent (c.1743-1808) French Painter (St. Petersburg)
Navez, François-Joseph (1787-1869) Belgian Painter
Nollekens, Joseph (1737-1823) English Sculptor
Odevaere, Joseph-Denis (1775-1830) Flemish Painter
Ollivier, Michel-Barthélémy (1712-1784) French Painter (Paris)
Pacetti, Vincenzo (1746-1820) Italian Sculptor (Rome)
Paelinck, Joseph (1781-1839) Flemish Painter
Palagi, Pelagio (1775-1860) Italian Painter
Peyron, Jean-François-Pierre (1744-1814) French Painter
Piquer Y Duart, José (1806-1871) Spanish Sculptor
Pollet, Joseph-Michel-Ange (1814-1870) Italian Sculptor
Powers, Hiram (1805-1873) American Sculptor
Pradier, James (1792-1852) Swiss Sculptor
Raffet, Auguste (1804-1860) French Painter
Ramey, Claude (1754-1838) French Sculptor
Rauch, Christian Daniel (1777-1857) German Sculptor
Redouté, Pierre-Joseph (1759-1840) French Painter (Paris)
Regnault, Jean-Baptiste (1754-1829) French Painter
Riesener, Henri-François (1767-1806) French Painter
Riesener, Jean-Henri (1754-1806) German Cabinet-Maker (Paris)
Robert, Léopold (1794-1835) Swiss Painter
Roberts, Piercy (Active 1795-1825) English Graphic Artist (London)
Ruxthiel, Henri-Joseph (1775-1837) French Sculptor
Saly, Jacques-François-Joseph (1717-1776) French Sculptor (Copenhagen)
Schadow, Johann Gottfried (1764-1850) German Sculptor
Schadow, Ridolfo (1786-1822) German Sculptor
Schick, Christian Gottlieb (1776-1812) German Painter
Sergel, Johan Tobias (1740-1814) Swedish Sculptor
Shchedrin, Semyon Fyodorovich (1745-1804) Russian Painter (St. Petersburg)
Shee, Sir Martin Archer (1769-1850) Irish Painter (London)
Storr, Paul (1771-1844) English Goldsmith (London)
Suvée, Joseph-Benoit (1743-1807) Flemish Painter
Thorvaldsen, Berthel (1769-1844) Danish Sculptor
Tieck, Christian Friedrich (1776-1851) German Sculptor (Berlin)
Tischbein, Johann Friedrich August (1750-1812) German Painter (Leipzig)
Tischbein, Johann Heinrich Wilhelm (1751-1829) German Painter (Naples)
Valadier, Luigi (1726-1785) Italian Sculptor (Rome)
Valenciennes, Pierre-Henri De (1750-1819) French Painter
Vernet, Carle (1758-1836) French Painter (Paris)
Vien, Joseph-Marie (1716-1809) French Painter
Vincent, François-André (1746-1816) French Painter
Volpato, Giovanni (1733-1803) Italian Sculptor
Walker, George (Active 1792-1795) English Graphic Artist
Westmacott, Sir Richard (1775-1856) English Sculptor (London)
Wille, Johann Georg (1715-1808) German Graphic Artist (Paris)
Zaryanko, Sergey Konstantinovich (1818-1871) Russian Painter
Zauner, Franz Anton (1746-1822) German Sculptor

NOTE: For the most recent exponents of neoclassicism, please see: Classical Revival in modern art (1900-30). For an important exemplar, see: Neoclassical Figure Paintings by Picasso (1906-30).

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