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During the eighteenth century, a variety of architectural movements jostled with one another for prominence in England. Terms like neo-classical, gothic revival, picturesque, and others designate different styles or types of architecture used during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The neo-classical style had ancient Greek and Roman architecture as its source. The basic idea behind using these ancient styles lay in the philosophy that Greece and Rome (mostly Greece, actually) were perfect, ideal cultures. As a result, people in the eighteenth century studied Greek and Latin books, learned about the ancient philosophies, and held up the ancient world as an ideal to strive for in everything. Including architecture. |
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Take a look at the building to the right. This is an example of the neo-classical style in England. The architects, Richard Boyle and Lord Burlington, designed Chiswick House in 1724-29 with a Greek temple front (that's the part with the columns and triangular pediment on top) and a dome behind. Compare it to the Roman Pantheon (bottom right), which dates to 125-28 CE. Can you see how the eighteenth century country house echoes the ancient, classical Roman Pantheon?
Click on either image for a close-up. |
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| The neo-classical style didn't just represent an ideal that architects were striving for. It also had moral overtones as well, especially in the later eighteenth century. Classical forms indicated that whoever built the building or used it (the government, an aristocrat, a museum) was morally upright and pure. How does this work, for example, for the U.S. White House and the personage of its main inhabitant? Can you think of other buildings which use neo-classical elements? | |
