Neoclassical definition

(1750-1880) A French art movement that began as a reaction against the Baroque style filled with emotions and feelings, and the Rococo style that was rather stuffy and overbred.  Its aim was to raise again the ideals of Roman and Greek art that included unemotional and often severe forms.  The classic forms from the Roman and Greek era were used to share the artists’ ideas about things such as patriotism, sacrifice, and bravery.  Examples of Neo-Classical artists include: Jacques-Louis David, Sir Henry Raeburn, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Thomas Gainsborough, Antonio Canova and Arnold Bocklin.  The art movement Romanticism acted as a counter-balanced to this movement and both styles had a big influence on artists of the time and thereafter.