The Neoclassical era was known as “The Age of Reason” or “The Enlightenment”. This era started in the mid 1700’s. The neoclassical era was part of the Greek and Roman history.
The neoclassical era started as a reaction to the former Rococo period. The Rococo art was whimsical and playful. . The artwork of the neoclassical era was morally uplifting and inspirational. The artwork depicted the seriousness of the time, order, reason, tradition, society, intellect and political events. Neoclassical artists wanted a return to traditionalism and to the perceived purity of the arts of Rome. Neoclassical artists felt this would help the people to return to knowledge and a perfect controlled time. Philosophers of the neoclassical era believed that they would be able to control their destinies by learning from and following the Laws of Nature thus giving the name “The Age of Reason”. “France wished to model the government on the high virtues and moral principles of classical Rome. Therefore, neoclassical artists were commissioned to create paintings and sculptures that depicted inspirational scenes from Roman history. Even architecture and interior design began to reflect the neoclassical period” (Neoclassicism | Art Movement). Neoclassical art emphasized courage, order, solemnity, sacrifice, nationalism, and tradition. Neoclassical art is characterized by classical themes. Sometimes the subject's were placed in archaeological settings with people dressed in classical costumes. Neoclassical art doesn’t contain any emotion and portrayals of heroic actions.
The paintings during the neoclassical era were calm and rational. The paintings were stressed drawings with lines. The paintings had no color and no trace of brushstroke. The paintings were very detailed oriented and depicted a more rational scene. Around 1830, the neoclassicism movement was replaced by the romanticism movement.
The romanticism era was known as “Art with a heart”. This was the first time in art history that focused on teaching people to care about one another. This era started around the late 18th century until the mid 19th century. The romanticism era was part of the Europe and America history. The romanticism era started as a reaction to the neoclassical era. This era has nothing to do with romance but with a strong person believing in the rights of others and expressing deep intense and often uplifting expressions through art. The artwork of the romanticism era was dramatic and would carry the viewer away. The artwork depicted what the artist was feeling not what was being asked of the artist to paint. The artwork was based on the pure emotions of the artist. Romanticism wanted to break away from the neoclassical era and the set of stereotyped rules that came along with that era. “Feelings, passion, imagination, creativity, originality and imperfection prevailed over the importance of order, rules, rationality and perfection from Neoclassicism” (Art in Romanticism, 2008). Romanticism art promoted intuition, emotion, imagination, exotic, nature, violence, creativity, and individuality. The paintings during the romanticism era were subjective, spontaneous, and non-conformist. The paintings were unrestrained and rich in colour. The brushstrokes were very visible. The paintings were very vibrant. The paintings weren’t always detail oriented, it depending on the artist. During the romanticism era many things were portrayed: the promotion of individual liberty, ending slavery, and supporting democratic and independence movement. This drove the ideas for the artwork during the romanticism era.
There are many more differences then similarities between the neoclassical and romanticism eras. The similarity is that both art eras utilized lingering elements of the baroque era. The neoclassical era gleaned from the baroque era attention to details in the different paintings. The romanticism era gleaned from the baroque era the emotional feelings that are displayed in the different paintings. The differences between neoclassical and romanticism began with how the painter decides to paint the picture. Neoclassical artist paint more of reality while romanticism artist paint more emotional and what they are feeling at that time. The neoclassical artist use organization, morally uplifting, inspirational, calm, rational, and solemnity in their paintings. The romanticism artist use dramatic, carefree, spontaneous, non-conformist, emotional, and imagination in their paintings. The paintings are different in many ways. The neoclassical era uses no colour, no trace of brushstrokes, and stressed drawing with lines. The romanticism era uses rich colour, visible brushstrokes, and unrestrained lines. The neoclassical era was during the mid 1700’s and was focused in Greek and Roman. The romanticism era was during the late 18th century to the mid 19th century and was focused in Europe and America. The neoclassical era was more about content, group settings, and logic. The romanticism era was more about form, individual, and emotion.
It is very important that the earlier art period, neoclassical era, continued the tradition throughout the centuries. The neoclassical era opened many doors hence why this era was called “The Enlightenment” era. The neoclassical era helped with centrality of freedom, democracy, values of the society, the scientific method, religious, racial tolerance, government, and truth. This era changed how artist viewed their paintings. The artist realized they had to paint the truth regardless of the cost. The artist realized their paintings would show how things were run during this time. This helps give people centuries later an understanding of how things were during the mid 1700s. One of the most notable artists of the neoclassical era was Jacques Louis David. He painted the Death of Socrates. This painting shows Socrates getting ready to take poison. He is the central character and the painting draws you to him. He is speaking to his students and giving them a lesson right before his death. The picture uses mild colors and is detailed oriented. It fits right into the neoclassical era. The romanticism era relates to the neoclassical era because it too wanted to express freedom, values of society, and religions through their paintings.
The romanticism era has played a significant role in the art world today. This era was known as “Art with a Heart”. This was the first time in art history that focused on teaching people to care about one another. This era helped artist to put their emotions into a painting. They could paint how they felt and not real things. This era encouraged imagination and not real objects, scenes, or events. One of the most notable artists of the romanticism era was Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson. She painted the Ossian Receiving the Ghosts of Fallen French Heroes. This picture represented many emotions, mystical figures, and life and death. This picture showed the imagination and nonrealistic scene. This era allowed artist to represent paintings like this one. You could paint your dream, thoughts, imaginations, feelings, society, and personal views. This changed the art world forever. Artist now could paint what they wanted and not what they were told to see and paint.

Work Cited Page
Art in Romanticism. (2008, March 31). Retrieved from www.aartsz.org: http://www.artsz.org/artists/romanticism/
Neoclassicism | Art Movement. (n.d.). Retrieved from Art Education: http://www.arteducation.com.au/art-movements/neoclassicism.php