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NEOCLASSICAL architecture
The neoclassical movement that produced Neoclassical architecture began in the mid-
18th century, as a reaction against both the surviving Baroque and Rococo
styles, and as a desire to return to the perceived "purity" of the arts of Rome,
the more vague perception ("ideal") of Ancient Greek arts and, to a lesser
extent, 16th century Renaissance Classicism.

The movement concerned itself with the logic of entire Classical volumes, unlike
Classical revivalism, which tended to reuse Classical parts.

Neoclassical architecture is characterized by Pantheon, Paris, 1757

Grandeur of scale
Simplicity of geometric forms
Greek (especially Doric) or Roman detail
A preference for blank walls
Symmetric Planning
Dramatic Use of Full height Classical Order Columns on the exterior front
Triangular Pediments
Domed Roof Capitol Hill, Washington DC. 1794
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• The Neo-Classical style developed following the excavation in Italy of the
ruins of the Roman cities of Herculaneum in 1738 and Pompeii in
1748, the publication of such books as Antiquities of Athens (1762) by
the English archaeologists James Stuart and Nicholas Revett, and the
arrival of the American architect Elgin Marbles in London in 1806.

• Before the discoveries at Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Athens, had been

made, the only classical architecture generally known was that of Rome,
largely through architectural etchings of Classical Roman buildings by
the Italian artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi.
Panthéon (formerly Church of Sainte-Geneviève)
• Piranesi justified his eclecticism by quoting from Ovid,
“ Nature renews herself constantly-to create the new out of the old,
therefore also proper to man”.

• The new archaeological finds extended classical architecture's formal

vocabulary, and architects began advocating a style based on Greco-
Roman models.

• Neoclassical architecture was exemplified in Karl Friedrich Schinkel's

buildings, especially the Old Museum in Berlin, Sir John Soane's Bank of
England in London and the “Capitol" in Washington, DC.
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• When revolutionary movements established republics in France
and America, the new republican governments adopted Neo-
Classicism as the style for their official art, by virtue of its
association with the democracy of ancient Greece and republican
Rome.

• In architecture, neoclassicism was the dominant style in Europe during

1750s-1850s. Classical architectural models were adapted or
referenced in a range of architectural forms and interior designs. Later,
Neoclassical architecture became an international style, each country
held some distinct characteristic in their style.
Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, Virginia
1770-1809.
• From about 1800 a fresh influx of Greek architectural examples,
seen through the medium of etchings and engravings, gave a new
motivation to neoclassicism.

• In France, Laugier laid the rational and geometrical groundwork for

architecture; in England, neoclassical architecture interweaved with
the Picturesque tradition; and Germany, under the influence from
France and England, developed a national style with cultural
significance.

• After Napoleon became emperor in 1804, his official architects

Charles Percier and Pierre François Fontaine worked to realize his
wish to transform Paris into the foremost capital of Europe by
adopting the threatening lavishness of Roman imperial 3
architecture. Sir John Soane, Bank of England (1796)
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• The Empire style in architecture is characterized by such imposing public works as the triumphal arches at the
Carrousel du Louvre, designed by Percier and Fontaine and the Champs-Élysées, designed by Fontaine and begun
the same year.

• Greek-inspired architecture in England is illustrated by such constructions, in London, as the Bank of England
rotunda (1796) by Sir John Soane and the British Museum portico (1823-1847) by Sir Robert Smirke.

• In the United States, one aspect of Neo-Classicism, the Federal style, flourished between 1780 and 1820. Based
on the work of Robert Adam, it is showed in the work of Charles Bulfinch (Massachusetts State House, Boston,
completed 1798).

• The model for Thomas Jefferson's State Capitol Building in Richmond, Virginia (1785-1789) was the Maison-
Carrée, a 1st-century Roman temple in Nîmes, France. Through his readings and travels, Jefferson developed a
profound understanding of Roman architecture and applied his knowledge to the designs for his own home,
Monticello; for the University of Virginia campus; and for preliminary contributions to plans for the new national
capital of Washington, D.C. Jefferson's work exemplifies Neo-Classical style in the United States. The Greek revival
style, based on 5th-century BC Greek temples and inspired by Elgin Marbles, flourished during the first half of the
19th century in the United States.

• Both the Federal and Greek revival styles helped a young United States define its own architectural ethos.

• Russia's Catherine II transformed St. Petersburg into an unparalleled collection of Neoclassical buildings as
advanced as any contemporary French and English work.
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INFLUENCES

Arch of Constantine, Rome Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, Paris

(1806-1808)

Maison Carree, Rome Madeleine,Paris

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INFLUENCES

Parthenon, Greece Valhalla, Bavaria (1830-1842)

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ALTES MUSEUM
Berlin, Germany
Architect: Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Construction: 1823-1830

• The Altes Museum or Old Museum was originally

for the Prussian Royal family's art collection.

• The building used the Greek Stoa in Athens as a

model.

• The museum uses the Ionic Order to articulate the

front, which is the only part of the exterior with any
visual sign of the Orders; the other three remaining
facades are assembled by brick and stone

• It also is placed on a plinth, giving the building the

hierarchy it desperately needed. Also, the museum
was raised in order to protect the artwork from
predictable flood.

• It also provided natural lighting through basement

windows on the facades other than the front one.

• The Palace, The Cathedral and The Museum were

on three sides, while the River Spree was on the 7
fourth.
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Cross section through the dome

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Cross section through the dome

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10
Cross section through the dome
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• The Spree river from which the island protrudes was actually
reconfigured by the architect, Schinkel, in order to allow
enough ground space for the museum to be built. Necessary
roadway changes, bridge expansions, and canals were
introduced around the same time as the Altes Museum
construction.

• Two Bronze sculptures adorn the monumental flight of steps.

• Central Rotunda and two Courtyards in the interior.

• The original dome was an exact hemisphere, modelled on the

Roman Pantheon.

• It was made invisible to the exterior observer because of the

museum's proximity to the Berlin Cathedral; the museum was
not meant to compete with the cathedral's dome.

• It was quite badly damaged during the Second World War. In

postwar reconstruction the dimensions of the drum was
reduced.

• After restorations in 1966, it re-opened as a museum displaying

ancient Greek and Roman artifacts.

• It is the oldest and largest public building in Berlin.