Aesthetics of classicism. General principles

MHK, 11th grade

Lesson #6

Art of classicism and rococo

D.Z.: Chapter 6, ?? (p. 63), tv. tasks (p.63-65), tab. (p. 63) fill in the notebook

LESSON OBJECTIVES

give an idea of the art of classicism, sentimentalism and rococo;
expand horizons, skills of analysis of genres of art;
to educate national self-consciousness and self-identification, respect for the musical creativity of the rococo.

CONCEPTS, IDEAS

O. Fragonard;
classicism;
G. Rigaud;
rococo;
sentimentalism;
hedonism;
rocaille;
mascarons;
V.L. Borovikovsky;
empire;
J. J. Rousseau

Checking students' knowledge

1. What are the characteristic features of the musical culture of the Baroque? How is it different from Renaissance music? Justify your answer with specific examples.

2. Why is C. Monteverdi called the first baroque composer? What was the reformist nature of his work? What is characteristic of the "Excited Style" of his music? How is this style reflected in the operatic works of the composer? What unites the musical creativity of C. Monteverdi with the works of baroque architecture and painting?

3. What distinguishes the musical work of J. S. Bach? Why is it customary to consider it within the framework of the musical culture of the Baroque? Have you ever listened to J.S. Bach's organ music? Where? What are your impressions? What works of the great composer are especially close to you? Why?

4. What are the characteristic features of Russian baroque music? What were the partes concerts of the 17th - early 18th centuries? Why is the development of Russian baroque music associated with the formation of a composer's school in Russia? What impression does the spiritual choral music of M. S. Berezovsky and D. S. Bortnyansky make on you?

Universal learning activities

 evaluate ; identify ways and means find associations organize and summarize
 define the essential features of styles classicism and rococo, correlate them with a certain historical era;
explore cause and effect relationships , patterns of change in artistic models of the world;
evaluate aesthetic, spiritual and artistic the value of the cultural and historical era ;
identify ways and means expression of social ideas and aesthetic ideals of the era in the process of analyzing works of art of classicism, rococo and sentimentalism;
find associations and differences between the artistic images of classicism, baroque and rococo, presented in various art forms;
characterize the main features , images and themes of the art of classicism, rococo and sentimentalism;
hypothesize, engage in dialogue , to argue their own point of view on the formulated problems;
organize and summarize acquired knowledge about the main styles and trends of art of the 17th-18th centuries. (working with a table)

STUDY NEW MATERIAL

Aesthetics of classicism.
Rococo and sentimentalism.

Lesson assignment. What is the significance of the aesthetics of classicism, rococo art and sentimentalism for world civilization and culture?

sub-questions

Aesthetics of classicism. Appeal to the ancient heritage and humanistic ideals of the Renaissance. Development of own aesthetic program. The main content of the art of classicism and its creative method. Features of classicism in various forms of art. Formation of the style system of classicism in France and its influence on the development of the artistic culture of Western European countries. The concept of the Empire style.
Rococo and sentimentalism *. Origin of the term "rococo". The origins of the artistic style and its characteristic features. Rococo tasks (on the example of masterpieces of arts and crafts). Sentimentalism as one of the artistic movements within the framework of classicism. Aesthetics of sentimentalism and its founder J. J. Rousseau. The Specificity of Russian Sentimentalism in Literature and Painting (V. L. Borovikovsky)

Aesthetics

classicism

New art style - classicism(Latin classicus exemplary) - followed the classical achievements of Antiquity and the humanistic ideals of the Renaissance.
The art of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome became the main source of themes and plots for classicism: references to ancient mythology and history, references to authoritative scientists, philosophers and writers.
In accordance with ancient tradition, the principle of the primacy of nature was proclaimed.

Levitsky D.G.

Portrait

Denis Diderot. 1773-1774 Museum of Art and History of the City of Geneva in Switzerland.

"... to study Antiquity in order to learn to see Nature"

(Denis Diderot)

Aesthetics

classicism

Aesthetic principles of classicism:

1. Idealization of ancient Greek culture and art, orientation towards moral principles and ideas of citizenship

2. The priority of the educational value of art, recognition of the leading role of the mind in the knowledge of beauty.

3. Proportionality, rigor, clarity in classicism are combined with completeness, completeness of artistic images, universalism and normativity.

The main content of the art of classicism was the understanding of the world as a rationally arranged mechanism, where a person was assigned a significant organizing role.

O. Fragonap. Portrait

Denis Diderot. 1765-1769 Louvre, Paris

Aesthetics

classicism

Creative method of classicism:

striving for reasonable clarity, harmony and strict simplicity;
approaching an objective reflection of the surrounding world;
observance of correctness and order;
subordination of the private to the main;
high aesthetic taste;
restraint and calmness;
rationality and logic in actions.

Claude Lorrain. Departure of the Queen of Sheba (1648). London National Art Gallery

Aesthetics

classicism

Each art form was

have their own special features:

1. The basis of the architectural language

classicism becomes order ( type

architectural composition, using

certain items and

subject to a certain architectural

style processing ) , much more

close in shape and proportion to

architecture of antiquity.

2. Works of architecture distinguish

strict organization

proportion and balance

volumes, geometric

correctness of lines, regularity

layouts.

3. Painting is characterized : clear

delimitation of plans, rigor

drawing, meticulously crafted

light and shade modeling of volume.

4. Special role in the solution

educational task played

literature and especially theater ,

became the most widespread

art of this time.

C. Persier, P.F.L. Foppep.

Arc de Triomphe in Place Carrousel in Paris. 1806 (style - Empire)

Aesthetics

classicism

in the era of the reign of the "king - the sun" Louis XIV (1643-1715), a certain ideal model of classicism was developed, which was imitated in Spain, Germany, England and in the countries of Eastern Europe, North and South America.
at first, the art of classicism was inseparable from the idea of absolute monarchy and was the embodiment of integrity, grandeur and order.

G. Rigaud. Portrait of Louis XIV.

1701 Louvre, Paris

Aesthetics

classicism

Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg (1801-1811) arch. A.N. Voronikhin.

Art in the form of the so-called revolutionary classicism served the ideals of the struggle against tyranny, for the assertion of civil rights of the individual, consonant with the French Revolution.
At the last stage of its development, classicism actively

expressed the ideals of the Napoleonic Empire.

He found his artistic continuation in the style empire (from French style Empire - “imperial style”) - late (high) style

classicism in architecture and applied arts. Originated in

France during the reign of Emperor Napoleon I.

Rococo and

With e n T And m e n T A l And h m

characteristic feature of the 18th century. in Western European art has become an indisputable fact of the simultaneous existence of baroque, rococo and sentimentalism with classicism.
Recognizing only harmony and order, classicism “straightened out” the bizarre forms of baroque art, ceased to perceive the spiritual world of man tragically, and transferred the main conflict to the sphere of relations between the individual and the state. Baroque, which has outlived itself and come to its logical conclusion, has given way to classicism and rococo.

O. Fragonard. Happy

swing possibilities. 1766

Wallace Collection, London

Rococo and

With e n T And m e n T A l And h m

In the 20s. 18th century in France

a new style of art emerged

rococo (fr. rocaille - shell). Already

the name itself reveals

main feature of this

style - passion for exquisite

and complex forms, bizarre

lines, much like

shell outline.

The shell then turned into

complex curl with some

strange cuts, then in

shield decoration or

half-folded scroll with

depiction of a coat of arms or emblem.

In France, interest in style

Rococo weakened by the end of the 1760s

years, but in the countries of Central

Europe, his influence was

perceptible until the end of the XVIII

centuries.

Rinaldi rococo:

interiors of the Gatchina castle.

Gatchina

Rococo and

With e n T And m e n T A l And h m

home purpose of rococo art - deliver sensuality

pleasure ( hedonism ). Art should have

please, touch and entertain, turning life into a sophisticated masquerade and "gardens of love."

Complex love intrigues, fleeting hobbies, daring, risky, society-defying actions of heroes, adventures and fantasies, gallant entertainment and holidays determined the content of Rococo works of art.

Allegory of fine arts,

1764 Oil on canvas; 103 x 130 cm. Rococo. France. Washington, National gallery.

Rococo and

With e n T And m e n T A l And h m

Characteristic features of the Rococo style in works of art:

grace and lightness, intricacy, decorative refinement

and improvisation, pastorality (shepherd's idyll), craving for the exotic;

Ornament in the form of stylized shells and curls, arabesques, flower garlands, figurines of cupids, torn cartouches, masks;

a combination of pastel light and delicate tones with a lot of white details and gold;

the cult of beautiful nudity, dating back to the ancient tradition, sophisticated sensuality, eroticism;

The cult of small forms, intimacy, miniature (especially in sculpture and architecture), love for trifles and knick-knacks (“Charming trifles”) that filled the life of a gallant person;

aesthetics of nuances and hints, intriguing duality

images, conveyed with the help of light gestures, half-turns,

barely noticeable mimic movements, a half-smile, a blurred

look or a wet gleam in the eyes.

Rococo and

With e n T And m e n T A l And h m

The Rococo style reached its greatest flourishing in the works

decorative and applied arts of France (interiors of palaces

and costumes of the aristocracy). In Russia, it manifested itself primarily in architectural decoration - in the form of scrolls, shields and intricate shells - rocaille (decorative ornaments imitating

combination of bizarre shells and outlandish plants), as well as maekaranov (stucco or carved masks in the form of

human face or the head of an animal placed over windows, doors, arches, fountains, vases and furniture).

Rococo and

With e n T And m e n T A l And h m

Sentimentalism (fr. sentiment - feeling). In ideological terms, he, like classicism, relied on the ideas of the Enlightenment.

An important place in the aesthetics of sentimentalism was occupied by the image of the world of feelings and experiences of a person (hence its name).

Feelings were perceived as a manifestation of the natural principle in a person, his natural state, possible only with close contact with nature.

Achievements of a civilization with many

temptations that corrupt the soul

"natural man", acquired

clearly hostile.

a kind of ideal

sentimentalism has become the image of rural

citizen who followed the law

primeval nature and living in

absolute harmony with her.

Court Joseph-Desire (Jose-Desery Court). painting. France

Rococo and

With e n T And m e n T A l And h m

The founder of sentimentalism is considered the French educator J.J. Rousseau proclaiming a cult

natural, natural feelings and

human needs, simplicity and

cordiality.

His ideal was sensitive,

sentimental dreamer,

obsessed with the ideas of humanism,

"natural man" with a "beautiful soul", not corrupted by bourgeois civilization.

The main task of Rousseau's art

saw in teaching people

virtues, call them to the best

life.

The main pathos of his works

is a praise of human feelings, high passions that came into conflict with social, class prejudices.

French philosopher, writer, thinker of the Enlightenment. Also a musicologist, composer and botanist. Born: June 28, 1712, Geneva. Died: July 2, 1778 (aged 66), Ermenonville, near Paris.

Rococo and

With e n T And m e n T A l And h m

It is most legitimate to consider sentimentalism as one of the artistic movements that operated within the framework of classicism.

If Rococo focuses on the external manifestation of feelings and emotions, then sentimentalism

highlights the inner

the spiritual side of human existence.

In Russia, sentimentalism found its most striking embodiment in literature and painting, for example, in the work of V. L. Borovikovsky.

V.L. Borovikovsky. Lizynka and Dashinka. 1794 State

Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Control questions

1 . What is the aesthetic program of the art of classicism? What were the connections and differences between the art of classicism and baroque?

2. What models of Antiquity and the Renaissance followed the art of classicism? What ideals of the past and why did he have to give up?

3. Why is Rococo considered the style of the aristocracy? What features of it corresponded to the tastes and moods of its time? Why was there no place in it for the expression of civic ideals? Why do you think the Rococo style reached its highest peak in the arts and crafts?

4. Compare the basic principles of baroque and rococo. Is it possible

5*. On what ideas of the Enlightenment was Sentimentalism based? What are its main focuses? Is it right to consider sentimentalism within the grand style of classicism?

Topics for presentations, projects

"The Role of France in the Development of European Artistic Culture".
"Man, Nature, Society in the Aesthetic Program of Classicism".
"Patterns of Antiquity and the Renaissance in Classical Art".
"The Crisis of Baroque Ideals and the Art of Classicism".
"Rococo and Sentimentalism - Accompanying Styles and Currents of Classicism".
"Features of the development of classicism in the art of France (Russia, etc.)".
"AND. J. Rousseau as the founder of sentimentalism.
"The Cult of Natural Feeling in the Art of Sentimentalism".
"The Further Destiny of Classicism in the History of World Art".

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Literature:

Programs for educational institutions. Danilova G.I. World art culture. – M.: Bustard, 2011
Danilova, G.I. Art / MHK. 11 cells Basic level: textbook / G.I. Danilova. M.: Bustard, 2014.
Kobyakov Ruslan. Saint Petersburg

In the art and aesthetics of classicism (XVII century), based on the ideas of French absolutism, an active active personality appeared as the center - the hero. His character is not characteristic of the titanic scale that distinguished the heroes. Renaissance, as well as the integrity of character and the active direction of the will to achieve the goal that determined the heroes of Greek antiquity.

In line with the ideas of mechanistic materialism of the era, he divided the world into two independent substances - spiritual and material, thinking and sensual, the hero of classic art appears as an individualized personification of these opposites and is called upon to decide on priorities. He becomes a heroic figure thanks to the provision of advantages to values that embody the "universal", and by the "universal" of classicism he understood such rather conventional values as honor of the nobility, the knightly devotion of the feudal lord to the moral duty to the ruler and under. The dominance of philosophical rationalism is not a positive direction in the sense of affirming the ideas of the integrity of the state under the rule of a strong personality. In art, it determined the speculation of the characters and conflicts of the heroes of the tragedy. Researchers rightly note that classicism "produced a harmonious beginning not from the depths of human nature itself (this humanistic" illusion "was overcome), but from the social sphere in which the hero acted."

The rationalistic method became the methodological basis of the aesthetics of classicism. Descartes, based on mathematical knowledge. It corresponded to the content of the ideology of absolutism, which sought to regulate all the pages of culture and life. The theory of passions, motivated by the philosopher, kept souls from bodily excitations caused by external stimuli. The rationalistic method used the theory of tragedy in the spirit of Cartesianism applied the principles of poetics. Aristotle. This trend is clearly seen in the example of the tragedies of the most prominent playwrights of classicism -. P. Corneille and. J. Racine Racina.

an outstanding theorist of the aesthetics of classicism. O. Boileau (1636-1711) in the work "Poetic Art" (1674) teaches the aesthetic principles of the art of classicism. The author considers the subordination of duties to the laws of rational thought to be the basis of the aesthetic. However, this does not mean denying the poetic nature of art. The measure of the artistry of a work depends on the degree of truth of the work and the plausibility of its paintings. Identifying the perception of the beautiful with the knowledge of the truth with the help of the mind, he creative imagination and intuition of the artist is also dependent on the mind.

O. Boileau calls artists to the knowledge of nature, but advises subjecting it to a certain purification and correction. The researcher paid much attention to the aesthetic means of expressing the content. To achieve the ideal in art, he considered it necessary to be guided by strict rules arising from some universal principles, he adhered to the idea of the existence of a certain absolute beauty, and hence the possible means of its creation. The main purpose of art, according to. O. Boileau, - a presentation of rational ideas, shrouded in a veil of poetic beauty. The purpose of his perception is a combination of reasonableness of thought and sensual enjoyment of a dotsilnis yu fortu forms.

The rationalization of the forms of experience, including art, is also reflected in the differentiation of genres of art, the aesthetics of classicism divides into "high" and "low". The author believes that they cannot be mixed, since they never turn into each other. By. O. Boileau, heroic actions and noble passions are the sphere of high genres. The life of ordinary ordinary people is the sphere of "low" genres. That is why I give or credit to the works. Jean Baptiste. Moliere, he considered their lack of proximity to the folk theater. So, aesthetics. O. Boileau is focused on creating the requirements that the artist must adhere to so that his work does not see the idea of beauty as the orderliness of content and form, taking into account the reasonable expediency of the content and the proper poetry of its form and proper poeticity of yoga form.

Certain aesthetic ideas contain treatises. P. Corneille dedicated to the theory of drama. The playwright sees the main meaning of the latter in the “purification” of the theater’s actions, like Aristotle’s “catharsis.” The theater must explain to the audience the events of the work so that they can go out of the theater, dispelling all doubts and contradictions. Valuable for the theory of aesthetics is the idea of taste, justified. F La Rochefoucauld (1613 - 1680) in the work "Maxima" The author considers opposite tendencies in knowledge, due to differences between tastes and mind. In the middle of this aesthetic sphere, opposites are repeated in the form of taste: passionate, connected with our interests, and general, which directs us to truth, although the difference between them is relative. The shades of taste are varied, the value of his judgments undergoes changes. The philosopher recognizes the existence of good taste, blazing the path to truth. Despite the declarative nature of the aesthetic ideas of classicism, the spiritual and social soil on which they grew, namely the formation of nation-states with strong sole power (king, emperor) turned out to be extremely fruitful for the practice of art. Based on the ideas of classicism, dramaturgy, theater, architecture, poetry, music, and painting reached a high peak. In all these types of art, national art schools were formed; national art schools were formed.

The era of classicism is the time from about the middle of the 18th to the middle of the 19th century. The characteristic features of the aesthetics of classicism are its normativity, i.e. the desire to establish strict rules for artistic creation. The artistic and aesthetic canons of classicism are clearly focused on examples of ancient art: transferring the themes of plots, characters, situations from ancient classics to the era of the New Age and filling them with new content.

The philosophical basis of the aesthetics of classicism was rationalism (one of the founders of which is Rene Descartes), the idea of the laws and rationality of the world. From this follow the ideological and aesthetic principles of classicism: 1. logical form, 2. harmonious unity of images created in art, 3. ideal of beautiful, ennobled nature, 4. affirmation of the idea of statehood, an ideal hero, 5. resolution of the conflict between personal feeling and public duty in favor of the latter.

There is also a hierarchy of genres, dividing them into higher (tragedy, epic) and lower (comedy, fable, satire). The orientation of the art of classicism to the clarity of content, a clear statement of social problems, aesthetic pathos, the height of the civil ideal made it socially significant, of great educational value. The aesthetic theory of classicism found its fullest expression in such works as The Poetic Art by N. Boileau (1674).

Unity of action - the play must have one main plot, minor plots are kept to a minimum.
Unity of place - the action corresponds to the same place in the space of the play.
Unity of time. Nicolas Boileau in his " poetic art“He formulated the three unities as follows: “Let one event that happened in one place on one day keep the theater filled to the end.” A guide on how to write correctly. Criticized the authors: do not describe everyday situations. It is worth being a poet only if you have poetic talent.

"The initial rules of verbal art" by Ch. Batte (1747), in the doctrines of the French Academy.

The most developed genres in the period of classicism were tragedies, poems and odes.

Tragedy is such a dramatic work, which depicts the struggle of a strong personality with insurmountable obstacles; such a struggle usually ends in the death of the hero. The classicist writers put the tragedy at the heart of the collision (conflict) of the hero's personal feelings and aspirations with his duty to the state. This conflict was resolved by the victory of duty. The plots of the tragedy were borrowed from the writers of ancient Greece and Rome. As in Greco-Roman tragedy, the characters were portrayed as either positive or negative, and each person was the personification of any one spiritual trait, one quality: positive courage, justice, etc., negative - ambition, hypocrisy.

Ode is a solemn song of praise in honor of kings, generals or a victory won over enemies.

In the struggle between the material and the spiritual, the greatness of man was revealed. The personality was affirmed in the fight against "passions", freed from selfish material interests. The rational, spiritual principle in a person was considered as the most important quality of a person.

Diderot in his work "The Paradox of the Actor" speaks of the actor. Simplicity and truth, the approximation of the intonations of the actor to the intonations of simple human speech, without posture and false pathos - that's what was required of the new actor. The actor must understand the feelings with the mind and evoke them in the viewer.

Four major literary figures contributed to the establishment of classicism in Russia: A.D. Kantemir, V.K. Trediakovsky, M.V. Lomonosov and A.P. Sumarokov.

Karamzin "Poor Liza"

O.P. Sumarokov is considered to be the creator of the canon of Russian classical tragedy and comedy. He wrote nine tragedies and twelve comedies. The laws of classicism are also observed by Sumarokov's comedy. "To make you laugh is the gift of a vile soul," said the playwright. He became the founder of the social comedy of manners, in each of his comedies there is a moral.

The pinnacle of Russian classicism is the work of D.I. Fonvizin, the creator of a truly original national comedy, who laid the foundations of critical realism in the middle of this system.

Usually the period of classicism is associated with the Viennese classics - Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven. Why are they called "Viennese classics"? They all lived in Vienna, which at that time was considered the capital of musical culture. The term "Viennese classics" was first used by the Austrian musicologist Kiesewetter in 1834 in relation to Haydn and Mozart. Later, other authors added Beethoven to this list. The Viennese classics are also often referred to as representatives of the First Viennese School.

These great composers of the Viennese school are united by their virtuosity in different styles of music and composition techniques: from folk songs to polyphony (simultaneous sounding, development and interaction of several voices or melodic lines, melodies). The Viennese classics created a high type of instrumental music, in which all the richness of figurative content is embodied in a perfect artistic form. This is the main feature of classicism.

Classicism

Classicism is one of the most important trends in the art of the past, an artistic style based on normative aesthetics that requires strict adherence to a number of rules, canons, and unities. The rules of classicism are of paramount importance as a means to ensure the main goal - to enlighten and instruct the public, referring it to sublime examples. The aesthetics of classicism reflected the desire for the idealization of reality, due to the rejection of the image of a complex and multifaceted reality. In theatrical art, this direction has established itself in the work, first of all, of French authors: Corneille, Racine, Voltaire, Molière. Classicism had a great influence on the Russian national theater (A.P. Sumarokov, V.A. Ozerov, D.I. Fonvizin and others).

Historical roots of classicism

The history of classicism begins in Western Europe at the end of the 16th century. In the 17th century reaches its highest development, associated with the flowering of the absolute monarchy of Louis XIV in France and the highest rise in theatrical art in the country. Classicism continues to fruitfully exist in the 18th - early 19th centuries, until it was replaced by sentimentalism and romanticism.

As an artistic system, classicism finally took shape in the 17th century, although the very concept of classicism was born later, in the 19th century, when an irreconcilable war of romance was declared on it. "Classicism" (from the Latin "classicus", i.e. "exemplary") assumed a stable orientation of the new art to the antique way, which did not at all mean a simple copying of antique samples. Classicism carries out continuity with the aesthetic concepts of the Renaissance, which were oriented towards antiquity.

Having studied the poetics of Aristotle and the practice of the Greek theater, the French classics proposed the rules of construction in their works, based on the foundations of rationalistic thinking of the 17th century. First of all, this is strict observance of the laws of the genre, the division into higher genres - ode, tragedy, epic and lower ones - comedy, satire.

The laws of classicism

The laws of classicism were most characteristically expressed in the rules for constructing a tragedy. From the author of the play, first of all, it was required that the plot of the tragedy, as well as the passions of the characters, be believable. But the classicists have their own understanding of plausibility: not just the similarity of what is depicted on the stage with reality, but the consistency of what is happening with the requirements of reason, with a certain moral and ethical norm.

The concept of a reasonable predominance of duty over human feelings and passions is the basis of the aesthetics of classicism, which differs significantly from the concept of a hero adopted in the Renaissance, when complete freedom of the individual was proclaimed, and man was declared the “crown of the universe”. However, the course of historical events disproved these ideas. Overwhelmed by passions, a person could not decide, find support. And only in serving society, a single state, the monarch, who embodied the strength and unity of his state, could a person express himself, assert himself, even at the cost of abandoning his own feelings. The tragic collision was born on a wave of colossal tension: ardent passion collided with inexorable duty (in contrast to the Greek tragedy of fatal predestination, when the will of a person turned out to be powerless). In the tragedies of classicism, reason and will were decisive and suppressed spontaneous, poorly controlled feelings.

Hero in the tragedies of classicism

The classicists saw the veracity of the characters' characters in strict subordination to internal logic. The unity of the character of the hero is the most important condition for the aesthetics of classicism. Summarizing the laws of this direction, the French author N. Boileau-Despreo in his poetic treatise Poetic Art, states: Let your hero be carefully thought out, Let him always remain himself.

The one-sidedness, the inner static nature of the hero does not, however, exclude the manifestation of living human feelings on his part. But in different genres, these feelings manifest themselves in different ways, strictly according to the chosen scale - tragic or comic. N. Boileau says about the tragic hero:

The hero, in whom everything is small, is only suitable for a novel,

May he be brave, noble,

But still, without weaknesses, he is not nice to anyone ...

He cries from resentment - a useful detail,

So that we believe in its plausibility ...

So that we crown you with enthusiastic praise,

We should be excited and touched by your hero.

From unworthy feelings let him be free

And even in weaknesses he is mighty and noble.

To reveal the human character in the understanding of the classicists means to show the nature of the action of eternal passions, unchanged in their essence, their influence on the fate of people. Basic rules of classicism. Both high genres and low ones were obliged to instruct the public, to elevate its morals, to enlighten feelings. In tragedy, the theater taught the spectator resilience in the struggle of life, the example of a positive hero served as a model of moral behavior. The hero, as a rule, a king or a mythological character was the main character. The conflict between duty and passion or selfish desires was necessarily resolved in favor of duty, even if the hero died in an unequal struggle. In the 17th century the idea became dominant that only in serving the state does a person acquire the possibility of self-affirmation. The flowering of classicism was due to the assertion of absolute power in France, and later in Russia.

The most important norms of classicism - the unity of action, place and time - follow from those substantive premises that were discussed above. In order to more accurately convey the idea to the viewer and inspire selfless feelings, the author did not have to complicate anything. The main intrigue should be simple enough so as not to confuse the viewer and not deprive the picture of integrity. The demand for unity of time was closely connected with the unity of action, and many diverse events did not occur in the tragedy. The unity of place has also been interpreted in different ways. It could be the space of one palace, one room, one city, and even the distance that the hero could cover within twenty-four hours. Particularly bold reformers decided to stretch the action for thirty hours. The tragedy must have five acts and be written in Alexandrian verse (iambic six-foot). Excites the visible more than the story, But what the ear can endure, sometimes the eye will not endure. (N. Boileau)

Similar information.

Lecture: Originates in Italy, but reaches its peak in France. Latin - classicus - sample. Classicism is based on the philosophy of Rene Descartes, rationalism. Rationalism is the ability of thinking based on reason. Sense cognition is denied or regarded as imperfect. In the works of classicism, everything is subjected to the judgment of reason. The main conflict of Classicism is the conflict of reason and feelings. Aesthetics of Classicism: the idea of eternity and immutability of the laws of reason =) the laws by which works of art are created are eternal and unchanging. Sources of plots: ancient literature or mythology. Laws of art: 1. High (ode, tragedy) and low genres (comedy, epigram, fable). Mixing is impossible. Heroes of tragedies are people from the upper class. Heroes of low genres are commoners; 2. The rule of trinity (time, place, action). The storyline is packed into a day. The location must not change. One main storyline without side ones (the function of art is educational =) the viewer does not need to be distracted from the most important thoughts in the play).

Theory and practice of the Baroque in the 17th century. resolutely opposed the classicist doctrine. The aesthetics of classicism (the term goes back to the Latin classicus; the original meaning is a citizen of the highest property class; a later figurative meaning is exemplary, including in the field of art), as well as the aesthetic concept of baroque, developed gradually.

The interpreters of classicism usually declare that the most important feature of classicist poetics is its normative character. The normativity of this poetics is quite obvious. And although the most complete and authoritative code of classicist laws, which received all-European significance - "Poetic Art" by Nicolas Boileau - was published only in 1674, long before that, often ahead of artistic practice, the theoretical thought of classicism gradually formed a strict code of laws and rules, mandatory for all artists. And yet, in the creative practice of many supporters of classicism, one can observe far from always strict adherence to these rules. From this, however, it does not follow that the outstanding artists of classicism (in particular, Moliere) in their literary activity "went beyond" classicism. Even violating some particular requirements of classicist poetics, the writers remained true to its basic, fundamental principles. The artistic potential of classicism was undoubtedly wider than a set of strict rules and was able to provide an in-depth comprehension of some essential aspects of reality, as compared with previous literature, their truthful and artistically complete recreation.

It follows from this that, for all the importance of normativity for the art of classicism, it is not its most important feature. Moreover, normativity is only the result of the fundamental anti-historicism inherent in classicism. The Classicists proclaimed “good taste” as the supreme “judge” of the beautiful, due to the “eternal and unchanging” laws of reason. Classicists recognized ancient art as a model and ideal for the embodiment of the laws of reason and, consequently, “good taste”, while the poetics of Aristotle and Horace were interpreted as a presentation of these laws.

Recognition of the existence of eternal and objective laws of art, that is, independent of the consciousness of the artist, entailed the requirement for a strict discipline of creativity, the denial of "unorganized" inspiration and masterful fantasy. For the classicists, of course, the Baroque exaltation of the imagination as the most important source of creative impulses is completely unacceptable. Proponents of classicism return to the Renaissance principle of "imitation of nature", but interpret it more narrowly. Considering the source of beauty to be the harmony of the universe, due to the underlying spiritual principle, the aesthetics of classicism set the artist the task of bringing this harmony into the image of reality. The principle of “imitation of nature”, thus, in the interpretation of the classicists, did not imply the veracity of the reproduction of reality, but plausibility, by which they meant the depiction of things not as they are in reality, but as they should be according to reason. Hence the most important conclusion: the subject of art is not all of nature, but only a part of it, revealed after careful selection and reduced in essence to human nature, taken only in its conscious manifestations. Life, its ugly sides should appear in art ennobled, aesthetically beautiful, nature - "beautiful nature", delivering aesthetic pleasure. But this aesthetic pleasure is not an end in itself, it is only a path to the improvement of human nature, and, consequently, of society.

In practice, the principle of “imitation of beautiful nature” was often declared to be equivalent to a call to imitate ancient works as ideal examples of the embodiment of the laws of reason in art.

The rationalism of the aesthetics of classicism is fundamentally different from the rationalistic tendencies of the aesthetics of the Renaissance and, moreover, from the rationalism of the Baroque. In Renaissance art, the recognition of the special role of the mind did not violate the ideas about the harmony of the material and the ideal, mind and feelings, duty and passion. The opposition of reason and feeling, duty and attraction, public and personal reflects a certain real historical moment, characteristic of the new time, the isolation of social relations into an independent abstract force for the individual. If the baroque figures opposed the mind to the abstraction of the state as a force that gives the individual the opportunity to resist the chaos of life, then classicism, delimiting the private and the state, puts the mind at the service of the abstraction of the state. At the same time, as the Soviet researcher S. Bocharov rightly wrote, “the great works of classicism were not court art, they contained not a figurative design of state policy, but a reflection and knowledge of the conflicts of the historical era. Therefore, the concept of Corneille's tragedies was not a simple subordination of personal to common, passion, duty (which would fully satisfy official requirements), but the irreconcilable antagonism of these principles, as a result of which the internal struggle in the souls of the heroes became the nerve of tragedy and the main source of drama.

The preference for reason over feeling, the rational over the emotional, the general over the particular, their constant opposition largely explains both the strengths and weaknesses of classicism. On the one hand, this determines the great attention of classicism to the inner world of man, to psychology: the world of passions and experiences, the logic of spiritual movements and the development of thought are at the center of both classicist tragedy and classicist prose. On the other hand, in classic writers, the general and the individual are completely separated, and the heroes embody the contradiction of human essence as abstract, devoid of the individual, containing only the general. Moreover, the distinction between public and private life is recognized as an eternal contradiction of human nature.

This misunderstanding of the dialectic of the general and the individual also determines the way character is built in classicism. The rationalistic method of "dissecting difficulties", formulated by the greatest rationalist philosopher of the 17th century. Rene Descartes, as applied to art, meant highlighting in the human character, as a rule, one leading, main feature. Thus, the way characters are typed here is deeply rationalistic. It is possible, using the expression of Lessing, to say that the heroes of the classicists are rather "personified characters" than "characterized personalities." It does not follow from this, however, that the characters in classicism are abstract entities, formal logical categories of the universal mind; they, according to the just remark of the Soviet researcher E. N. Kupreyanova, are “images of universal, natural characters, created on the model of historical ones, but cleared of everything random, external that is contained in historical biographies.”

The classicist way of typing characters by highlighting the main, defining features in them, undoubtedly contributed to the improvement of the art of psychological analysis, the satirical sharpening of the topic in comedies. At the same time, the requirement of "reasonable" integrity, unity and logical sequence of character hinders its development. The exceptional interest in the "conscious" inner life of a person often forces one to ignore the external situation, the material conditions of life. In general, the characters of classicist works, especially tragedies, are devoid of historical concreteness. Mythological and ancient heroes in them feel, think and act like the nobles of the 17th century. A great connection between character and circumstances, although within the limits of classicist typification, is found in comedy, the action of which usually takes place in modern times, and the images acquire, for all their generalization, life-like authenticity.

From the general aesthetic principles of classicism, the specific requirements of its poetics follow, most fully formulated in Boileau's Poetic Art: harmony and proportionality of parts, logical harmony and laconism of composition, simplicity of plot, clarity and clarity of language. The consistent rationalism of the aesthetics of classicism leads to the rejection of fantasy (except for ancient mythology, which is interpreted as "reasonable").

One of the fundamental and stable theoretical principles of classicism is the principle of dividing each art into genres and their hierarchical correlation. The hierarchy of genres in classicist poetics is brought to its logical end and concerns all aspects of art.

Genres are divided into "high" and "low", and mixing them is recognized as unacceptable. "High" genres - epic, tragedy, ode - are designed to embody state or historical events, that is, the life of monarchs, generals, mythological heroes; "low" - satire, fable, comedy - should depict the private, everyday life of "mere mortals", persons of the middle classes. Style and language must strictly correspond to the chosen genre. In matters of language, the classicists were purists: they limited the vocabulary allowed in poetry, trying to avoid ordinary "low" words, and sometimes even specific names of household items. Hence the use of allegories, descriptive expressions, predilection for conditional poetic clichés. On the other hand, classicism fought against the excessive ornamentality and pretentiousness of poetic language, against far-fetched, refined metaphors and comparisons, puns and similar stylistic devices that obscure the meaning.

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