Neoclassicism: Virtue in the Age of Revolution

In the mid-1700s, excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii and the writings of scholars such as Johann Joachim Winckelmann sparked new admiration for ancient Greece and Rome. Neoclassical artists rejected the playful Rococo style for clarity, order and moral seriousness. Jacques-Louis David's 'Oath of the Horatii' (1784) shows three brothers swearing to die for Rome, celebrating patriotic sacrifice, though it was commissioned by the royal government.

David later became an active revolutionary, painting 'The Death of Marat' (1793) as a martyr's image, and then served Napoleon. In the United States, Thomas Jefferson modeled the Virginia State Capitol on a Roman temple, linking the new republic to ancient ideals. Neoclassicism shows how the same classical style could serve monarchy, revolution and empire, depending on who used it.