Classicism(from Latin classicus - exemplary) - artistic style European art XVII-XIX centuries, one of the most important features of which was the appeal to ancient art as the highest model and reliance on traditions high Renaissance. The art of classicism reflected the ideas of the harmonious structure of society, but in many ways lost them in comparison with the culture of the Renaissance. Conflicts between personality and society, ideal and reality, feelings and reason testify to the complexity of the art of classicism. The artistic forms of classicism are characterized by strict organization, balance, clarity and harmony of images.

artwork, from the point of view of classicism, should be built on the basis of strict canons, thereby revealing the harmony and logic of the universe itself. Of interest to classicism is only the eternal, the unchangeable - in each phenomenon it strives to recognize only essential, typological features, discarding random individual characteristics. The aesthetics of classicism attaches great importance to the social and educational function of art.

The direction is headed by the Paris Academy of Arts, which is responsible for the creation of a set of artificial dogmatic rules and supposedly unshakable laws of drawing composition. This Academy also established rationalistic principles for the depiction of emotions (“passions”) and the division of genres into “high” and “low”. “High” genres included historical, religious and mythological genres, “low” genres included portrait, landscape, everyday life, and still life.

How a certain direction was formed in France, in the 17th century. French classicism freed man from religious and church influence, affirming personality as the highest value of existence. Russian classicism not only adopted Western European theory, but also enriched it with national characteristics.

Classicism was formed as an antagonistic movement in relation to the magnificent and virtuosic art of the Baroque. But when, in the second half of the 17th century, classicism became the official art of the absolutist monarchy, it absorbed elements of the Baroque. This was manifested in the architecture of Versailles, in the work of the painter C. Lebrun, sculptures by F. Girardon, and A. Coisevox.

In the mid-18th century, against the backdrop of the educational movement, on the eve french revolution A new direction of classicism arose, opposing itself to the art of Rococo and the work of its epigones - academicians. A feature of this direction was the manifestation of the features of realism, the desire for clarity and simplicity, a reflection of the enlightenment ideal of “natural humanity”.

The period of late classicism - Empire - falls on the first third of the 19th century. It is distinguished by its pomp and splendor, expressed in architecture and applied art. This period is distinguished as independent.

IN painting Classicism, the logical development of the plot, a clear balanced composition, a clear transfer of volume, with the help of chiaroscuro the subordinate role of color, the use of local colors (N. Poussin, C. Lorrain) acquired the main importance.

The demarcation of plans in landscapes was also revealed with the help of color: the foreground had to be brown, the middle one was green, and the distant one was blue.

At the beginning of the 17th century, young foreigners flocked to Rome to get acquainted with the heritage of antiquity and the Renaissance. The most prominent place among them was occupied by the Frenchman Nicolas Poussin, in his paintings, mainly on the themes of ancient antiquity and mythology, which provided unsurpassed examples of geometrically precise composition and thoughtful relationships between color groups. The themes of Poussin's paintings are varied: mythology, history, New and Old Testaments. Poussin's heroes are people strong characters and majestic deeds, high feeling debt to society and the state. The social purpose of art was very important to Poussin. All these features are included in the emerging program of classicism. Another Frenchman, Claude Lorrain, in his antique landscapes of the environs of the “eternal city”, organized the pictures of nature by harmonizing them with the light of the setting sun and introducing peculiar architectural scenes.

The discovery of “genuine” ancient painting during the excavations of Pompeii, the deification of antiquity by the German art critic Winckelmann and the cult of Raphael, preached by the artist Mengs, who was close to him in views, in the second half of the 18th century breathed new breath into classicism (in Western literature this stage is called neoclassicism). The largest representative of the “new classicism” was Jacques-Louis David; its extremely laconic and dramatic artistic language served with equal success to promote the ideals of the French Revolution (“The Death of Marat”) and the First Empire (“The Dedication of Emperor Napoleon I”).

In the 19th century, classicist painting entered a period of crisis and became a force holding back the development of art, not only in France, but also in other countries. David's artistic line was successfully continued by Ingres, who, while maintaining the language of classicism in his works, often turned to romantic stories with oriental flavor; his portrait works are marked by a subtle idealization of the model. Artists in other countries (like, for example, Karl Bryullov) also filled works that were classic in form with the spirit of reckless romanticism; this combination was called academicism. Numerous art academies served as its breeding grounds.

Sculpture The era of classicism is distinguished by severity and restraint, coherence of forms, calmness of poses, when even movement does not violate the formal closure (E. Falconet, J. Houdon).

The impetus for the development of classicist sculpture in the middle of the 18th century was the writings of Winckelmann and archaeological excavations ancient cities, which expanded the knowledge of contemporaries about ancient sculpture. In France, such sculptors as Pigalle and Houdon vacillated on the verge of Baroque and Classicism. Classicism reached its highest embodiment in the field of plastic art in the heroic and idyllic works of Antonio Canova, who drew inspiration mainly from the statues of the Hellenistic era (Praxiteles). In Russia, Fedot Shubin, Mikhail Kozlovsky, Boris Orlovsky, and Ivan Martos gravitated towards the aesthetics of classicism.

Public monuments, which became widespread in the era of classicism, gave sculptors the opportunity to idealize military valor and the wisdom of statesmen. Fidelity to the ancient model required sculptors to depict models naked, which conflicted with accepted norms

Morals. To resolve this contradiction, modern figures were initially depicted by classicist sculptors in the form of naked ancient gods: Under Napoleon, the issue was resolved by moving to depicting modern figures in ancient togas (such are the figures of Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly in front of the Kazan Cathedral).

Private customers of the classic era preferred to perpetuate their names in tombstones. The popularity of this sculptural form contributed to the arrangement of public cemeteries in the main cities of Europe. In accordance with the classicist ideal, figures on tombstones are usually in a state of deep repose. The sculpture of classicism is generally alien to sudden movements and external manifestations of emotions such as anger.

Late, Empire classicism, represented primarily by the prolific Danish sculptor Thorvaldsen, is imbued with a dryish pathos. Purity of lines, restraint of gestures, and dispassionate expressions are especially valued. In choosing role models, the emphasis shifts from Hellenism to the archaic period. Religious images are coming into fashion, which, in Thorvaldsen’s interpretation, produce a somewhat chilling impression on the viewer. Tombstone sculpture of late classicism often bears a slight touch of sentimentality.

The main feature architecture classicism was an appeal to the forms of ancient architecture as a standard of harmony, simplicity, rigor, logical clarity and monumentality. The architecture of classicism as a whole is characterized by regularity of layout and clarity of volumetric form. The basis of the architectural language of classicism was the order, in proportions and forms close to antiquity. Classicism is characterized by symmetrical axial compositions, restraint of decorative decoration, and a regular city planning system.

The architectural language of classicism was formulated at the end of the Renaissance by the great Venetian master Palladio and his follower Scamozzi.

The most significant interiors in the classicist style were designed by the Scot Robert Adam, who returned to his homeland from Rome in 1758. He was greatly impressed by both the archaeological research of Italian scientists and the architectural fantasies of Piranesi. In Adam’s interpretation, classicism was a style hardly inferior to rococo in the sophistication of its interiors, which gained it popularity not only among democratically minded circles of society, but also among the aristocracy. Like his French colleagues, Adam preached a complete rejection of details devoid of constructive function.

The architects of Napoleonic France drew inspiration from the majestic images of military glory left behind by imperial Rome, such as the triumphal arch of Septimius Severus and Trajan's Column. By order of Napoleon, these images were transferred to Paris in the form of the triumphal arch of Carrousel and the Vendôme Column. In relation to monuments of military greatness from the era of the Napoleonic wars, the term “imperial style” is used - Empire style. In Russia, Carl Rossi, Andrei Voronikhin and Andreyan Zakharov proved themselves to be outstanding masters of the Empire style. In Britain, the empire style corresponds to the so-called. “Regency style” (the largest representative is John Nash).

The aesthetics of classicism favored large-scale urban planning projects and led to the streamlining of urban development on the scale of entire cities. In Russia, almost all provincial and many district cities were redeveloped into

In accordance with the principles of classic rationalism. To authentic museums of classicism under open air cities such as St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Warsaw, Dublin, Edinburgh and a number of others have become. A single architectural language, dating back to Palladio, dominated throughout the entire space from Minusinsk to Philadelphia. Ordinary development was carried out in accordance with albums of standard projects.

Literature. The founder of the poetics of classicism is the Frenchman Francois Malherbe (1555-1628), who carried out a reform of the French language and verse and developed poetic canons. The leading representatives of classicism in drama were the tragedians Corneille and Racine (1639-1699), whose main subject of creativity was the conflict between public duty and personal passions. High development“low” genres also reached - fable (J. Lafontaine), satire (Boileau), comedy (Molière 1622-1673).

Classicism of the 18th century developed under the influence of the ideas of the Enlightenment. The work of Voltaire (1694-1778) is directed against religious fanaticism, absolutist oppression, and is filled with the pathos of freedom. The goal of creativity is to change the world in better side, construction in accordance with the laws of classicism of society itself. From the standpoint of classicism, the Englishman Samuel Johnson reviewed contemporary literature, around whom a brilliant circle of like-minded people formed.

In Russia, classicism arose in the 18th century, after the reforms of Peter I. Lomonosov carried out a reform of Russian verse, developed the theory of “three calms”, which was essentially an adaptation of French classical rules to the Russian language. Images in classicism are deprived individual traits, since they are intended primarily to capture stable generic characteristics that do not pass over time, acting as the embodiment of any social or spiritual forces.

Classicism in Russia developed under the great influence of the Enlightenment - the ideas of equality and justice have always been the focus of attention of Russian classic writers. Therefore, in Russian classicism, genres that require the author’s obligatory assessment of historical reality have received great development: comedy (D. I. Fonvizin), satire (A. D. Kantemir), fable (A. P. Sumarokov, I. I. Khemnitser), ode (Lomonosov, G. R. Derzhavin).

Classicism(from lat. classicus– exemplary), like the Baroque, turned out to be a phenomenon on a pan-European scale. The poetics of classicism began to take shape in the era late Renaissance in Italy. On the threshold of classicism stands the tragedy of the Italian playwright G. Trissino “Sofonisba” (1515), written in imitation of ancient tragedians. It outlined features that later became characteristic of classicist drama - a logically structured plot, reliance on the word rather than on stage action, rationality and supra-individual character characters. The “Poetics” (1561) of the Italian J. Ts. Scaliger, which successfully anticipated the taste of the next century, the century of logic and reason, had a significant influence on the formation of classicism in European countries. And yet, the formation of classicism lasted for a whole century, and as an integral artistic system, classicism initially developed in France by the middle of the 17th century.

The development of classicism in France is closely connected with the establishment and flourishing of centralized royal power (absolute monarchy). Single-power statehood limited the rights of the willful feudal aristocracy, sought to legislatively define and regulate the relationship between the individual and the state, and clearly distinguish between the spheres of private and personal life. The spirit of regulation and discipline extends to the sphere of literature and art, determining their content and formal characteristics. In order to control literary life, the French Academy was created on the initiative of the first minister, Cardinal Richelieu, and the cardinal himself repeatedly intervened in literary disputes in the 1630s.

The canons of classicism took shape in sharp polemics with precision literature, as well as with Spanish playwrights (Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina). The latter ridiculed, in particular, the demand for the unity of time. (“As for your 24 hours, what could be more absurd, that love, starting in the middle of the day, would end in the evening with a wedding!”) Continuing certain traditions of the Renaissance (admiration for antiquity, faith in reason, the ideal of harmony and moderation), classicism was the Renaissance and a kind of antithesis, which made it similar, despite all their deep differences, with the Baroque.

Renaissance humanists saw the highest value in the free expression of human nature. Their hero is a harmonious personality, freed from the power of the estate corporation and unrestrained in his individualism. The humanists of the 17th century - the founders of classicism - due to the historical European experience, passions seemed to be a destructive, anarchic force, generated by egoism. In assessing a person, moral standards (virtues) now receive priority. The main content of creativity in classicism is the contradictions between natural nature man and civic duty, between his passions and reason, which gave rise to tragic conflicts.

The classicists saw the purpose of art in the knowledge of truth, which acts for them as the ideal of beauty. The classicists put forward a method for achieving it, based on three central categories of their aesthetics: reason, model and taste (these same concepts also became objective criteria of artistry). To create a great work, according to classicists, it is necessary to follow the dictates of reason, relying on “exemplary”, i.e. classical, works of antiquity (antiquity) and guided by the rules of good taste (“good taste” is the supreme judge of “beautiful”). Thus, classicists introduce elements of scientific activity into artistic creativity.

The principles of classicist poetics and aesthetics are determined by the system philosophical views eras based on the rationalism of Descartes. For him, reason is the highest criterion of truth. In a rational-analytical way, one can penetrate into the ideal essence and purpose of any object or phenomenon, comprehend the eternal and unchanging laws that underlie the world order, and therefore the basis artistic creativity.

Rationalism helped overcome religious prejudices and medieval scholasticism, but it also had its own weak side. The world in this philosophical system was considered from a metaphysical position - as unchanging and motionless.

This concept convinced classicists that the aesthetic ideal is eternal and unchanged at all times, but it was embodied with the greatest completeness and perfection in the art of antiquity. In order to reproduce this ideal, it is necessary to turn to ancient art and thoroughly study its rules and laws. At the same time, in accordance with the political ideals of the 17th century, special attention was drawn to the art of imperial Rome (the era of concentration of power in the hands of one person - the emperor), and the poetry of the "golden age" - the work of Virgil, Ovid, Horace. In addition to Aristotle’s “Poetics,” N. Boileau relied on Horace’s “Epistle to the Piso” in his poetic treatise “Poetic Art” (1674), bringing together and generalizing theoretical principles classicism, summing up artistic practice their predecessors and contemporaries.

Trying to recreate the world of antiquity ("ennobled" and "corrected"), classicists borrow from it only "clothes." Although Boileau, addressing contemporary writers, writes:

And you need to study the customs of countries and years.

After all, the climate cannot but influence people.

But be afraid to soak in vulgar bad taste

With the French spirit of Rome... –

it is nothing more than a declaration. In the literary practice of classicism under the names ancient heroes people of the 17th–18th centuries are hiding, and ancient scenes reveal the formulation, first of all, of the most pressing problems of our time. Classicism is fundamentally ahistorical, since it is guided by the “eternal and unchanging” laws of reason.

Classicists proclaim the principle of imitation of nature, but at the same time they do not at all strive to reproduce reality in its entirety. They are interested not in what is, but in what should be according to the ideas of their mind. Everything that does not correspond to the model and “good taste” is expelled from art and declared “indecent.” In cases where it is necessary to reproduce the ugly, it is aesthetically transformed:

Incarnated in art, both a monster and a reptile

We are still pleased with the wary look:

The artist's brush shows us transformation

Abominable objects into objects of admiration...

Another key problem of classicist poetics is the problem of truth and verisimilitude. Should a writer depict exceptional phenomena, incredible, out of the ordinary, but recorded by history (“truth”), or create images and situations that are fictitious, but consistent with the logic of things and the requirements of reason (i.e., “plausible”)? Boileau gives preference to the second group of phenomena:

Don’t torment us with the incredible, disturbing the mind:

And the truth sometimes doesn’t look like the truth.

I will not be delighted with wonderful nonsense:

The mind does not care about what it does not believe.

The concept of verisimilitude also underlies the classical character: the tragic hero cannot be “petty and insignificant”,

But still, without weaknesses, his character is false.

Achilles captivates us with his ardor,

But if he cries, I love him more.

After all, in these little things nature comes to life,

And truly, the picture amazes our minds.

(N. Boileau, "Poetic Art")

Boileau is close to the position of J. Racine, who, relying on Aristotle’s “Poetics,” in the preface to the tragedy “Andromache,” wrote about his heroes that “they should be average people in their spiritual qualities, in other words, have virtue, but be subject to weaknesses , and misfortune must befall them as a result of some mistake capable of arousing pity for them, and not disgust."

Not all classicists shared this concept. The founder of French classic tragedy, P. Corneille, gravitated toward creating exceptional characters. His heroes do not bring tears to the audience's eyes, but evoke undeniable admiration for their resilience and heroism. In the preface to his tragedy “Nycomède,” Corneille declared: “Tenderness and passions, which should be the soul of tragedy, have no place here: only heroic greatness reigns here, casting a glance at one’s sorrows filled with such contempt that it does not allow them to be torn from the heart.” the hero does not have a single complaint. It faces treacherous politics and opposes it only with noble prudence, walking with an open visor, it foresees danger without a shudder and does not expect help from anyone except from its valor and love...” Corneille motivates the persuasiveness of those created. he images with the concept of vital truth and historical authenticity: “The story that gave me the opportunity to demonstrate the highest degree of this greatness was taken by me from Justin.”

The cult of reason among the classicists also determines the principles of character creation - one of the central aesthetic categories of classicism. For classicists, character does not imply a set of individual traits of a particular person, but embodies a certain general and at the same time eternal structure of human nature and psychology. Only in the aspect of the eternal, unchanging and universal did character become an object artistic research classic art.

Following the theorists of antiquity - Aristotle and Horace - Boileau believed that “art” should preserve “for everyone his special feelings.” These “special feelings” determine the psychological make-up of a person, making one a vulgar dandy, another a miser, a third a spendthrift, etc. Character was thus reduced to one dominant trait. Pushkin also noted that in Molière the hypocrite Tartuffe even “asks for a glass of water, the hypocrite,” and the miser Harpagon “is stingy and nothing more.” There is no point in looking for greater psychological content in them. When Harpagon explains himself to his beloved, he behaves like a miser, and with his children he behaves like a miser. “There is only one paint, but it is applied thicker and thicker and, finally, brings the image to everyday, psychological implausibility.” This principle of typification led to a sharp division of heroes into positive, virtuous and negative, vicious.

The characters in tragedies are also determined by one leading trait. The unilinearity of Corneille's heroes emphasizes their integrity, which substantiates the “core” of their character. Racine’s work is more complicated: the passion that defines the character of his characters is itself contradictory (usually it is love). The exhaustion of the entire gamut of psychological shades of passion is the method of Racine’s characterization - a method, like Corneille’s, deeply rationalistic.

Embodying generic, “eternal” traits in his character, the classicist artist himself sought to speak not from his special, uniquely individual “I”, but from the position of a statesman. That is why “objective” genres predominate in classicism - primarily dramatic ones, and among lyrical genres, those predominate where an orientation towards the impersonal, universally significant (ode, satire, fable) predominates.

The normativity and rationality of classicist aesthetics are also manifested in the strict hierarchy of genres. There are “high” genres – tragedy, epic, ode. Their sphere is public life, historical events, mythology; their heroes are monarchs, generals, historical and mythological figures. This choice of tragic heroes was determined not so much by the tastes and influence of the court, but by the measure of moral responsibility of those people who were entrusted with the fate of the state.

“High” genres are contrasted with “low” genres - comedy, satire, fable - addressed to the sphere of private everyday life of nobles and townspeople. An intermediate place is given to “middle” genres - elegy, idyll, epistle, sonnet, song. Depicting inner world individual, these genres during the heyday of classic literature, imbued with high civic ideals, did not occupy any noticeable place in literary process. The time for these genres will come later: they will have a significant impact on the development of literature in the era of the crisis of classicism.

Prose, especially fiction, is valued by classicists much lower than poetry. “Love thought in verse,” Boileau exclaims at the beginning of his treatise and “raises to Parnassus” only poetic genres. Those prose genres that are primarily of an informational nature - sermons, memoirs, letters - are becoming widespread. At the same time, scientific, philosophical and epistolary prose, becoming in the public domain in the era of the cult of science, acquires the features of a truly literary work and already has not only scientific or historical value, but also aesthetic value (“Letters of a Provincial” and “Thoughts” by B. Pascal, “Maxims, or Moral reflections"F. de La Rochefoucauld, "Characters" by J. de Labruyère, etc.).

Each genre in classicism has strict boundaries and clear formal characteristics. No mixing of the sublime and the base, the tragic and the comic, the heroic and the ordinary is allowed: what is allowed in satire is excluded in tragedy, what is good in comedy is unacceptable in epic. A “peculiar law of style unity” reigns here (G. Gukovsky) - each genre unit has its own strict formal style canon. Mixed genres, for example, tragicomedy, which was very popular in the first half of the 17th century, are being pushed out of the boundaries of “real literature.” “From now on, only the entire system of genres is capable of expressing the diversity of life.”

The rationalistic approach also determined the attitude towards poetic form:

You learn to think, then write.

Speech follows the thought; clearer or darker

And the phrase is modeled after the idea;

What is clearly understood will be clearly heard,

And the exact word will come immediately.

(N. Boileau, "Poetic Art")

Each work must be strictly thought out, the composition must be logically structured, the individual parts must be proportionate and indissoluble, the style must be clear to the point of transparency, the language must be laconic and precise. The concept of measure, proportion, and symmetry is inherent not only in literature, but also in the entire artistic culture of classicism - architecture, painting, landscape art. Both scientific and artistic thinking of the era has a pronounced mathematical character.

In architecture, public buildings that express the idea of ​​statehood are beginning to set the tone. The basis of planning schemes are the correct geometric shapes(square, triangle, circle). Classicist architects mastered the construction of a huge complex consisting of a palace and a park. They become capable of detailed, mathematically verified compositions. In France, new trends were first fully embodied in the grandiose ensemble of Versailles (1661–1689, architects L. Levo, A. Le Nôtre, J. Hardouin-Mansart, etc.).

The paintings of the classicists are also distinguished by clarity, logic, and compositional harmony. N. Poussin, the creator and head of French classicism in painting, chose subjects that gave the mind food for thought, cultivated virtue in a person and taught him wisdom. He found these subjects primarily in ancient mythology and the legendary history of Rome. His paintings “The Death of Germanicus” (1627), “The Capture of Jerusalem” (1628), and “The Rape of the Sabine Women” (1633) are devoted to the depiction of “heroic and unusual actions.” The composition of these paintings is strictly ordered; it resembles the composition of ancient bas-reliefs (the characters are located in a shallow space, divided into a number of plans). Poussin, almost sculpturally, clearly draws the volumes of the figures, carefully verifies their anatomical structure, and arranges their clothes in classic folds. The distribution of colors in the painting is also subject to the same strict harmony.

Strict laws also reigned in verbal art. These laws were established especially harshly for high genres, clothed in mandatory poetic form. Thus, tragedy, like epic, had to be presented in majestic Alexandrian verse. The plot of the tragedy, historical or mythological, was taken from ancient times and was usually known to the viewer (later classicists began to draw material for their tragedies from eastern history, and Russian classicists preferred plots from their own national history). The familiarity of the plot tuned the viewer not to perceive a complex and intricate intrigue, but to analyze the emotional experiences and opposing aspirations of the characters. According to the definition of G. A. Gukovsky, “classical tragedy is not a drama of action, but a drama of conversation; the classical poet is not interested in facts, but in analysis directly formed in the word.”

The laws of formal logic determined the structure of dramatic genres, primarily tragedy, which was supposed to consist of five acts. Comedies could also be three-act (one-act comedies would appear in the 18th century), but in no case four or two acts. The classicists elevated the principle of three unities - place, action and time, formulated in the treatises of G. Trissino and Y. Scaliger, based on Aristotle's Poetics, into an indisputable law for dramatic genres. According to the rule of unity of place, the entire action of the play must take place in one place - a palace, a house, or even a room. The unity of time required that the entire action of the play fit into no more than a day, and the more it corresponded to the performance time - three hours - the better it was. Finally, unity of action implied that the events depicted in the play should have their own beginning, development and end. In addition, the play should not contain “extra” episodes or characters that are not directly related to the development of the main plot. Otherwise, the theorists of classicism believed, the diversity of impressions prevented the viewer from perceiving the “reasonable basis” of life.

The requirement of three unities radically changed the structure of drama, as it forced playwrights to depict not the entire system of events (as was the case, for example, in the medieval mystery play), but only the episode that completes this or that event. The events themselves were “taken off stage” and could cover a large period of time, but they were retrospective in nature, and the viewer learned about them from the monologues and dialogues of the characters.

At first, the three unities were not formal. The underlying principle of verisimilitude, the fundamental principle of classicism, was formed in the struggle with the traditions of medieval theater, with its plays, the action of which sometimes stretched over several days, involving hundreds of performers, and the plot was filled with all sorts of miracles and naive naturalistic effects. But, elevating the principle of three unities into an unshakable rule, the classicists did not take into account the peculiarities of the subjective perception of art, which allows for artistic illusion, non-identity artistic image reproduced object. The romantics, who discovered the “subjectivity” of the viewer, will begin the assault on the classical theater by overthrowing the rule of three unities.

The genre aroused particular interest on the part of writers and theorists of classicism. epics, or heroic poem, which Boileau placed even above tragedy. Only in the epic, according to Boileau, did the poet “gain space/to captivate our mind and gaze with lofty invention.” Classical poets are attracted to the epic by a special heroic theme based on the most important events of the past, and by heroes exceptional in their qualities, and by the manner of narrating events, which Boileau formulated as follows:

Let your story be dynamic, clear, concise,

And in the descriptions it is both magnificent and rich.

As in tragedy, a moral and didactic attitude is important in epic. Depicting heroic times, the epic, according to V. Trediakovsky, gives “firm instruction to the human race, teaching this to love virtue” (“Prediction of the Heroic Poem”, 1766).

IN artistic structure Boileau's epic assigns a decisive role to fiction ("Putting myth as the basis, he lives by fiction..."). Boileau’s attitude towards ancient and Christian mythology is consistently rationalistic - ancient myth attracts him with the transparency of the allegory, which does not contradict reason. Christian miracles cannot be the subject of aesthetic embodiment; moreover, according to Boileau, their use in poetry can compromise religious dogmas (“Christ’s sacraments are not used for fun”). In characterizing the epic, Boileau relies on ancient epic, primarily Virgil's Aeneid.

Criticizing the "Christian epic" of T. Tasso ("Jerusalem Liberated"), Boileau also opposes the national heroic epic based on material from the early Middle Ages ("Alaric" by J. Scuderi, "The Virgin" by J. Chaplin). The classicist Boileau does not accept the Middle Ages as an era of “barbarism,” which means that subjects taken from this era cannot have aesthetic and didactic value for him.

The principles of epic formulated by Boileau, oriented towards Homer and Virgil, did not receive full and comprehensive embodiment in the literature of the 17th century. This genre has already outlived its usefulness, and I. G. Herder, theorist literary movement in Germany "Sturm and Drang" (70s of the 18th century), from the position of historicism explained the impossibility of his resurrection (he we're talking about about the ancient epic): “The epic belongs to the childhood of mankind.” In the 18th century, attempts to create a heroic epic based on national material within the framework of classicism artistic system Moreover, they were not crowned with success (“Henriada” by Voltaire, 1728; “Rossiyada” by M. Kheraskov, 1779).

Ode, one of the main genres of classicism, also has a strict form. Its obligatory feature is “lyrical disorder,” which presupposes the free development of poetic thought:

Let Odes stormy style rush at random:

Her outfit is beautiful with its beautiful wrinkles.

Away from the timid rhymers, whose minds are phlegmatic

Dogmatic order is maintained in the passions themselves...

(N. Boileau, "Poetic Art")

And yet, this “dogmatic order” was strictly observed. The ode, like an oratorical speech, consisted of three parts: an “attack,” that is, an introduction to the topic, a discussion where this topic was developed, and an energetic, emotional conclusion. “Lyrical disorder” is purely external in nature: moving from one thought to another, introducing lyrical digressions, the poet subordinated the construction of the ode to the development of the main idea. The lyricism of the ode is not individual, but, so to speak, collective; it expresses “the aspirations and aspirations of the entire state organism” (G. Gukovsky).

In contrast to the “high” tragedy and epic, the classic “low genres” - comedy and satire - are applied to modern everyday life. The purpose of comedy is to educate, ridiculing shortcomings, “to rule the temper with mockery;/To make people laugh and to use its direct rules” (A. Sumarokov). Classicism rejected pamphleteering (i.e., directed against specific individuals) satirical comedy Aristophanes. The comedian is interested in universal human vices in their everyday manifestations - laziness, wastefulness, stinginess, etc. But this does not mean that classic comedy is devoid of social content. Classicism is characterized by a clear ideological and moral-didactic orientation, and therefore the appeal to socially significant issues gave many classic comedies a social and even topical sound ("Tartuffe", "Don Juan", "The Misanthrope" by Moliere; "The Brigadier", "The Minor" by D. Fonvizin; "Sneak" by V. Kapnist).

In his judgments about comedy, Boileau focuses on the “serious” moral comedy, presented in antiquity by Menander and Terence, and in modern times by Moliere. The highest achievement Moliere Boileau considers "The Misanthrope" and "Tartuffe", but criticizes the comedian for using the traditions of folk farce, considering them rude and vulgar (the comedy "The Tricks of Scapin"). Boileau advocates the creation of a comedy of characters as opposed to a comedy of intrigue. Later, this type of classic comedy, touching on problems of social or socio-political significance, would be assigned the definition of “high” comedy.

Satire has much in common with comedy and fable. All these genres have a common subject of depiction - human shortcomings and vices, a common emotional and artistic assessment - ridicule. At the core compositional structure satire and fable lies in the combination of the author's and narrative principles. The author of satire and fable often uses dialogue. However, unlike comedy, in satire the dialogue is not connected with action, with a system of events, and the depiction of life phenomena, unlike a fable, in satire is based on a direct rather than an allegorical image.

Being a satirical poet by his talent, Boileau in theory deviates from ancient aesthetics, which classified satire as a “low” genre. He sees satire as a socially active genre. Giving a detailed description of satire, Boileau recalls the Roman satirists Lucilius, Horace, and Persius Flaccus, who boldly exposed the vices of the powerful. But he puts Juvenal above all. And although the French theorist notes the “area” origins of the Roman poet’s satire, his authority for Boileau is indisputable:

His poems live by the terrible truth,

And yet the beauty in them sparkles here and there.

The temperament of the satirist prevailed over theoretical postulates in Boileau and in his defense of the right to personal satire, directed against specific ones, to everyone famous people(“Discourse on Satire”; it is characteristic that Boileau did not recognize satire of faces in comedy). This technique brought topical, journalistic color to classic satire. The Russian classicist-satirist A. Kantemir also widely used the technique of satire on faces, giving his “supra-individualistic” characters, personifying some kind of human vice, a portrait resemblance to his enemies.

An important contribution of classicism to the further development of literature was the development of a clear and harmonious language of artistic works (“What is clearly understood will sound clearly”), freed from foreign vocabulary, capable of expressing various feelings and experiences (“Anger is proud, he needs arrogant words, / But the sorrows of the complaint are not so intense"), correlated with the characters and age of the characters ("So choose your language carefully: / An old man cannot speak like a young man").

The formation of classicism in both France and Russia begins with linguistic and poetic reforms. In France, this work was started by F. Malherbe, who was the first to put forward the concept of good taste as a criterion of artistic skill. Malherbe did a lot to cleanse French from numerous provincialisms, archaisms and the dominance of borrowed Latin and Greek words, introduced into literary circulation by the Pleiades poets in the 16th century. Malherbe carried out a codification of the French literary language, eliminating everything random from it, focusing on the speech skills of the enlightened people of the capital, provided that literary language must be understandable to all segments of the population. Malherbe's contribution to the field of French versification was also significant. The rules of metrics formulated by him (fixed place of caesura, prohibition of transfers from one poetic line to another, etc.) not only entered the poetics of French classicism, but were also adopted by the poetic theory and practice of other European countries.

In Russia, similar work was carried out a century later by M. Lomonosov. Lomonosov's theory of the "three calms" eliminated the diversity and disorder of literary forms of communication characteristic of Russian literature of the late 17th - first third of the 18th centuries, streamlined literary word usage within a particular genre, determining the development of literary speech right up to Pushkin. No less important is the poetic reform of Trediakovsky-Lomonosov. By reforming versification on the basis of the syllabic-tonic system, which is organic to the Russian language, Trediakovsky and Lomonosov thereby laid the foundation of a national poetic culture.

In the 18th century, classicism experienced its second heyday. The determining influence on it, as well as on other stylistic trends, is enlightenment- an ideological movement that developed in the conditions acute crisis absolutism and directed against the feudal-absolutist system and the church that supports it. The ideas of the Enlightenment are based on the philosophical concept of the Englishman J. Locke, who proposed a new model of the process of cognition, based on feeling, sensation, as the only source of human knowledge about the world ("An Essay on the Human Mind", 1690). Locke decisively rejected the doctrine of “innate ideas” of R. Descartes, likening the soul of a born person to a blank slate (tabula rasa), where experience writes “its own writings” throughout life.

This view of human nature led to the idea of ​​the determining influence on the formation of personality of the social and natural environment, which makes a person good or bad. Ignorance, superstition, and prejudices generated by the feudal social order determine, in the opinion of educators, social disorder and distort the initially moral nature of man. And only general education can eliminate the discrepancy between existing public relations and the demands of reason and human nature. Literature and art began to be seen as one of the main tools for the transformation and re-education of society.

All this determined fundamentally new features in XVIII classicism century. While maintaining the basic principles of classicist aesthetics in the art and literature of educational classicism, the understanding of the purpose and objectives of a number of genres changes significantly. The transformation of classicism in the spirit of enlightenment principles is especially clearly visible in the tragedies of Voltaire. Remaining true to the basic aesthetic principles of classicism, Voltaire strives to influence not only the minds of the audience, but also their feelings. He is looking for new themes and new means of expression. Continuing to develop the ancient theme familiar to classicism, in his tragedies Voltaire also turns to medieval subjects (Tancred, 1760), oriental (Mahomet, 1742), and related to the conquest of the New World (Alzira, 1736). He gives a new justification for tragedy: “Tragedy is a moving painting, an animated picture, and the people depicted in it must act” (i.e., dramaturgy is thought of by Voltaire not only as the art of words, but also as the art of movement, gesture, facial expressions).

Voltaire fills the classic tragedy with acute philosophical and socio-political content associated with current problems modernity. The playwright's focus is on the fight against religious fanaticism, political tyranny and despotism. Thus, in one of his most famous tragedies, “Mohammed,” Voltaire proves that any deification of an individual personality ultimately leads to uncontrolled power over other people. Religious intolerance leads the heroes of the tragedy "Zaire" (1732) to a tragic denouement, and merciless gods and treacherous priests push weak mortals to crimes ("Oedipus", 1718). In the spirit of high social issues, Voltaire rethinks and transforms the heroic epic and ode.

During the period of the Great French Revolution (1789–1794), the classicist movement in literary life has special meaning. The classicism of this time not only generalized and assimilated innovative features Voltaire's tragedy, but also radically rebuilt the high genres. M. J. Chenier refuses to denounce despotism in general and that is why he takes as the subject of his images not only antiquity, but also Europe of modern times ("Charles IX", "Jean Calas"). The hero of Chenier's tragedies promotes the ideas of natural law, freedom and law, he is close to the people, and in the tragedy the people not only appear on stage, but also act along with the main character ("Cai Gracchus", 1792). The concept of the state as a positive category, opposed to the personal, individualistic, is replaced in the minds of the playwright by the category “nation”. It is no coincidence that Chenier called his play "Charles IX" a "national tragedy."

Within the framework of classicism of the era of the French Revolution, a new type of ode was created. Preserving the classic principle of the priority of reason over reality, the revolutionary ode includes like-minded people in its world lyrical hero. The author himself no longer speaks on his own behalf, but on behalf of his fellow citizens, using the pronoun “we”. Rouget de Lisle in “La Marseillaise” pronounces revolutionary slogans as if together with his listeners, thereby encouraging them and himself to revolutionary changes.

The creator of a new type of classicism, corresponding to the spirit of the times, in painting was J. David. Together with his painting "The Oath of the Horatii" (1784) in French fine arts comes new topic– civil, journalistic in its straightforward expression, new hero- Roman Republican, morally integral, putting duty to the homeland above all else, a new manner - stern and ascetic, contrasted with the refined chamber style French painting second half of the 18th century.

Under the influence French literature in the 18th century, national models of classicism took shape in other European countries: in England (A. Pope, J. Addison), in Italy (V. Alfieri), in Germany (I. K. Gottsched). In the 1770–1780s, such an original artistic phenomenon as “Weimar classicism” (J. W. Goethe, F. Schiller) arose in Germany. Turning to the artistic forms and traditions of antiquity, Goethe and Schiller set themselves the task of creating new high-style literature as the main means of aesthetic education of a harmonious person.

The formation and flowering of Russian classicism fell on the years 1730–1750 and took place in conditions quite similar to the French ones in the formation of an absolutist state. But, despite a number of common points in the aesthetics of Russian and French classicism (rationalism, normativity and genre regulation, abstraction and convention as the leading features of the artistic image, recognition of the role of the enlightened monarch in establishing a fair social order based on the law), Russian classicism has its own unique national features.

The ideas of enlightenment have fueled Russian classicism from the very beginning. The affirmation of the natural equality of people leads Russian writers to the idea of ​​the extra-class value of man. Already Cantemir, in his second satire “Filaret and Eugene” (1730), declares that “the same blood flows in both free and slaves,” and “noble” people “are shown by one virtue.” Forty years later, A. Sumarokov in his satire “On Nobility” will continue: “What is the difference between a gentleman and a peasant? Both of them are an animated lump of earth.” Fonvizinsky Starodum ("Minor", 1782) will determine the nobility of a person by the number of deeds performed for the fatherland ("without noble deeds, a noble state is nothing"), and the enlightenment of a person will be directly dependent on the cultivation of virtue in him ("The main goal of all human knowledge - good behavior").

Seeing in education “the guarantee of the well-being of the state” (D. Fonvizin) and believing in the usefulness of an enlightened monarchy, Russian classicists begin the long process of educating autocrats, reminding them of their responsibilities towards their subjects:

The gods did not make him king for his benefit;

He is a king, so that he may be a man to all people:

He must give his all to people all the time,

All your care, all your zeal for people...

(V. Trediakovsky, "Tilemakhida")

If the king does not fulfill his duties, if he is a tyrant, he must be overthrown from the throne. This can also happen through a popular uprising ("Dmitry the Pretender" by A. Sumarokov).

The main material for Russian classicists is not antiquity, but their own national history, from where they preferred to draw subjects for high genres. And instead of an abstract ideal ruler, a “philosopher on the throne”, characteristic of European classicism, Russian writers recognized a very specific historical figure - Peter I - as an exemplary sovereign, a “worker on the throne”.

The theoretician of Russian classicism Sumarokov, relying in his "Epistole on Poetry" (1748) on Boileau's "Poetic Art", introduces a number of new provisions into his theoretical treatise, pays tribute to recognition not only to the masters of classicism, but also to representatives of other movements. Thus, he elevates to Helicon, along with Malherbe and Racine, Camoes, Lope de Vega, Milton, Pope, the “unenlightened” Shakespeare, as well as contemporary writers - Detouches and Voltaire. Sumarokov speaks in sufficient detail about the heroic-comic poem and epistole, not mentioned by Boileau, explains in detail the features of the fable “storehouse” using the example of the fables of the bypassed Boileau Lafontaine, and dwells on the genre of song, which the French theorist mentions in passing. All this testifies not only to Sumarokov’s personal aesthetic preferences, but also to the changes that are ripening in European classicism of the 18th century.

These changes are associated primarily with the increasing interest of literature in the inner life of the individual, which ultimately led to a significant restructuring of the genre structures of classicism. A typical example The work of G. Derzhavin can serve here. Remaining “primarily a classicist” (V. Belinsky), Derzhavin introduces a strong personal element into his poetry, thereby destroying the law of unity of style. In his poetry, formations that are complex in terms of genre appear - ode-satire ("Felitsa", 1782), anacreontic poems written on an odic plot ("Poems for the birth of a porphyry-born youth in the North", 1779), an elegy with features of a message and an ode (" On the death of Prince Meshchersky", 1779), etc.

Making way for new ones literary trends, classicism does not leave literature without a trace. The turn to sentimentalism occurs within the framework of the “average” classic genres - elegy, message, idyll. The poets of the early 19th century K. Batyushkov and N. Gnedich, while remaining fundamentally faithful to the classical ideal (partly to the canon of classicism), each went their own way to romanticism. Batyushkov – from " light poetry"to psychological and historical elegy, Gnedich - to the translation of the Iliad and genres associated with folk art. P. Katenin chose the strict forms of the classicist tragedy of Racine for his Andromache (1809), although as a romantic he is interested in the spirit itself ancient culture. The high civic tradition of classicism was continued in the freedom-loving lyrics of the Radishchevite poets, the Decembrists and Pushkin.

Time of occurrence.

In Europe- XVII - early XIX century

The end of the 17th century was a period of decline.

Classicism was revived during the Enlightenment - Voltaire, M. Chenier and others. After the Great French Revolution, with the collapse of rationalist ideas, classicism went into decline, dominant style European art becomes romanticism.

In Russia- in the 2nd quarter of the 18th century.

Place of origin.

France. (P. Corneille, J. Racine, J. Lafontaine, J. B. Moliere, etc.)

Representatives of Russian literature, works.

A. D. Kantemir (satire “On those who blaspheme the teaching”, fables)

V.K. Trediakovsky (novel “Riding to the Island of Love”, poems)

M. V. Lomonosov (poem “Conversation with Anacreon”, “Ode on the day of the accession to the throne of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, 1747”

A. P. Sumarokov, (tragedies “Khorev”, “Sinav and Truvor”)

Ya. B. Knyazhnin (tragedies “Dido”, “Rosslav”)

G. R. Derzhavin (ode “Felitsa”)

Representatives of world literature.

P. Corneille (tragedies “Cid”, “Horace”, “Cinna”.

J. Racine (tragedies of Phaedrus, Mithridates)

Voltaire (tragedies "Brutus", "Tancred")

J. B. Moliere (comedies “Tartuffe”, “The Bourgeois in the Nobility”)

N. Boileau (treatise in verse “Poetic Art”)

J. Lafontaine (fables).

Classicism from fr. classicisme, from lat. classicus - exemplary.

Features of classicism.

• The purpose of art- moral influence on the education of noble feelings.
• Reliance on ancient art(hence the name of the style), which was based on the principle of “imitation of nature.”
• The basis is the principle rationalism((from the Latin “ratio” - reason), a view of a work of art as an artificial creation - consciously created, intelligently organized, logically constructed.
• Cult of the mind(belief in the omnipotence of reason and that the world can be reorganized on a rational basis).
• Headship state interests over personal, the predominance of civil, patriotic motives, the cult of moral duty. Affirmation of positive values ​​and the state ideal.
• Main conflict classic works - this is the struggle of the hero between reason and feeling. A positive hero must always make a choice in favor of reason (for example, when choosing between love and the need to completely devote himself to serving the state, he must choose the latter), and a negative one - in favor of feeling.
• Personality is the highest value of existence.
• Harmony content and form.
• Compliance in dramatic work rules "three unities": unity of place, time, action.
• Dividing heroes into positive and negative. The hero had to embody one character trait: stinginess, hypocrisy, kindness, hypocrisy, etc.
• Strict hierarchy of genres, mixing of genres was not allowed:

"high"- epic poem, tragedy, ode;

“middle” - didactic poetry, epistles, satire, love poem;

"low"- fable, comedy, farce.

• Purity of language (in high genres- high vocabulary, in low - colloquial);
• Simplicity, harmony, logic of presentation.
• Interest in the eternal, unchanging, the desire to find typological features. Therefore, images are devoid of individual features, since they are designed primarily to capture stable, generic, characteristics that are enduring over time.
• Social and educational function of literature. Education of a harmonious personality.

Features of Russian classicism.

Russian literature has mastered stylistic and genre forms classicism, but also had its own characteristics, distinguished by its originality.

• The state (not the person) was declared highest value) in conjunction with belief in the theory of enlightened absolutism. According to the theory of enlightened absolutism, the state should be headed by a wise, enlightened monarch, requiring everyone to serve for the good of society.
• General patriotic pathos Russian classicism. Patriotism of Russian writers, their interest in the history of their homeland. They all study Russian history, write works on national and historical topics.
• Humanity, since the direction was formed under the influence of the ideas of the Enlightenment.
• Human nature is selfish, subject to passions, that is, feelings that are opposed to reason, but at the same time amenable to education.
• Affirmation of the natural equality of all people.
• Main conflict- between the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie.
• The works are centered not only on the personal experiences of the characters, but also on social problems.
• Satirical focus- an important place is occupied by such genres as satire, fable, comedy, which satirically depict specific phenomena of Russian life;
• The predominance of national historical themes over ancient ones. In Russia, “antiquity” was domestic history.
• High level of development of the genre odes(from M.V. Lomonosov and G.R. Derzhavin);
• The plot is usually based on love triangle: the heroine is the hero-lover, the second lover.
• At the end classic comedy Vice is always punished, and goodness triumphs.

Three periods of classicism in Russian literature.

1. 30-50s of the 18th century (the birth of classicism, the creation of literature, the national language, the flourishing of the ode genre - M.V. Lomonosov, A.P. Sumarkov, etc.)
2. 60s years - end XVIII century ( main task literature - education of a citizen, human service for the benefit of societies, exposing the vices of people, the flowering of satire - N.R. Derzhavin, D.I. Fonviin).
3. End XVIII-early XIX century (the gradual crisis of classicism, the emergence of sentimentalism, the strengthening of realistic tendencies, national motives, the image of an ideal nobleman - N.R. Derzhavin, I.A. Krylov, etc.)

Material prepared by: Melnikova Vera Aleksandrovna.

Classicism as an artistic style

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1. Characteristics of classicism as a movement in art

Classicism is an artistic movement in art and literature of the 17th and early 19th centuries. In many ways he opposed the Baroque with its passion, variability, and inconsistency, asserting his principles.

Classicism is based on the ideas of rationalism, which were formed simultaneously with those in the philosophy of Descartes. A work of art, from the point of view of classicism, “must be built on the basis of strict canons, thereby revealing the harmony and logic of the universe itself.” Of interest to classicism is only the eternal, the unchangeable - in each phenomenon it strives to recognize only essential, typological features, discarding random individual characteristics. The aesthetics of classicism attaches great importance to the social and educational function of art. Classicism takes many rules and canons from ancient art(Aristotle, Horace).

Classicism establishes a strict hierarchy of genres, which are divided into high (ode, tragedy, epic) and low (comedy, satire, fable). Each genre has strictly defined characteristics, the mixing of which is not allowed.

Classicism appeared in France. In the formation and development of this style, two stages can be distinguished. The first stage refers to XVII century. For the classics of this period, unsurpassed examples of artistic creativity were works of ancient art, where the ideal was order, rationality, and harmony. In their works they sought beauty and truth, clarity, harmony, completeness of construction. Second stage 1st XVIII century. It entered the history of European culture as the Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason. The man attached great value knowledge and believed in the ability to explain the world. The main character is a person who is ready for heroic deeds, subordinating his interests to the general ones, his spiritual impulses to the voice of reason. What makes him different is moral fortitude, courage, truthfulness, devotion to duty. The rational aesthetics of classicism was reflected in all types of art.

The architecture of this period is characterized by orderliness, functionality, proportionality of parts, a tendency towards balance and symmetry, clarity of plans and constructions, and strict organization. From this point of view, the symbol of classicism is the geometric layout of the royal park at Versailles, where trees, shrubs, sculptures and fountains were located according to the laws of symmetry. The Tauride Palace, erected by I. Starov, became the standard of Russian strict classics.

In painting, the logical development of the plot, a clear balanced composition, a clear transfer of volume, the subordinate role of color with the help of chiaroscuro, and the use of local colors acquired the main importance (N. Poussin, C. Lorrain, J. David).

In the art of poetry, there was a division into “high” (tragedy, ode, epic) and “low” (comedy, fable, satire) genres. Outstanding representatives of French literature P. Corneille, F. Racine, J.B. Moliere had a great influence on the formation of classicism in other countries.

An important point of this period was the creation of various academies: sciences, painting, sculpture, architecture, inscriptions, music and dance.

The artistic style of classicism (from the Latin classicus Ї “exemplary”) arose in the 17th century in France. Based on ideas about regularity and rationality of the world order, the masters of this style “strove for clear and strict forms, harmonious patterns, the embodiment of high moral ideals". They considered works of ancient art to be the highest, unsurpassed examples of artistic creativity, so they developed ancient subjects and images. Classicism largely opposed the Baroque with its passion, variability, and inconsistency, asserting its principles in different types art, including music. In the opera of the 18th century. classicism is represented by the works of Christoph Willibald Gluck, who created a new interpretation of this type of musical and dramatic art. The pinnacle in development musical classicism became the work of Joseph Haydn,

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven, who worked mainly in Vienna and formed a movement in musical culture the second half of the 18th century - the beginning of the 19th century - the Viennese classical scale. Classicism in music is in many ways not similar to classicism in literature, theater or painting. In music it is impossible to rely on ancient traditions; they are almost unknown. In addition, the content of musical compositions is often associated with the world of human feelings, which are not subject to the strict control of the mind. However, the composers of the Viennese school created a very harmonious and logical system of rules for constructing a work. Thanks to such a system, the most complex feelings were clothed in a clear and perfect form. Suffering and joy became for the composer a subject of reflection, rather than experience. And if in other types of art the laws of classicism already at the beginning of the 19th century. seemed outdated to many, then in music the system of genres, forms and rules of harmony developed by the Viennese school retains its significance to this day.

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Classicism (from Latin classicus - exemplary) is the artistic style of European art of the 17th–19th centuries, one of the most important features of which was the appeal to ancient art as the highest example and reliance on the traditions of the High Renaissance. The art of classicism reflected the ideas of the harmonious structure of society, but in many ways lost them in comparison with the culture of the Renaissance. Conflicts between personality and society, ideal and reality, feelings and reason testify to the complexity of the art of classicism. The artistic forms of classicism are characterized by strict organization, balance, clarity and harmony of images.

Classicism is associated with the Enlightenment and was based on the ideas of philosophical rationalism, on ideas about the rational laws of the world. In accordance with the sublime ethical ideas and educational program of art, the aesthetics of classicism established a hierarchy of genres - “high” (tragedy, epic, ode, history, mythology, religious painting, etc.) and “low” (comedy, satire, fable, genre painting, etc.) etc.). In literature (tragedies by P. Corneille, J. Racine, Voltaire, comedies by Molière, the poem “The Art of Poetry” and satires by N. Boileau, fables by J. Lafontaine, prose by F. La Rochefoucauld, J. Labruyère in France, works of the Weimar period by I.V. . Goethe and F. Schiller in Germany, odes of M.V. Lomonosov and G.R. Derzhavin, tragedies of A.P. Sumarokov and Ya.B. Knyazhnin in Russia) significant ethical conflicts and normative typified images play a leading role. For theatrical art (Mondori, Duparc, M. Chanmele, A.L. Leken, F.J. Talma, Rachel in France, F.C. Neuber in Germany, F.G. Volkov, I.A. Dmitrevsky in Russia) Characterized by a solemn, static structure of performances and measured reading of poetry.

The main features of Russian classicism: appeal to the images and forms of ancient art; heroes are clearly divided into positive and negative; the plot is based, as a rule, on a love triangle: the heroine is the hero-lover, the second lover; at the end of the classical comedy, vice is always punished, and good triumphs; the principle of three unities: time (the action lasts no more than a day), place, action. For example, we can cite Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor.” In this comedy, Fonvizin tries to implement main idea classicism - to re-educate the world with rational words. Positive heroes They talk a lot about morality, life at court, and the duty of a nobleman. Negative characters become an illustration of inappropriate behavior. Behind the clash of personal interests, the social positions of the heroes are visible.

Classicism is based on the ideas of rationalism coming from the philosophy of Descartes. A work of art, from the point of view of classicism, should be built on the basis of strict canons, thereby revealing the harmony and logic of the universe itself. Of interest to classicism is only the eternal, the unchangeable - in each phenomenon it strives to recognize only essential, typological features, discarding random individual characteristics. The aesthetics of classicism attaches great importance to the social and educational function of art. Classicism takes many rules and canons from ancient art (Aristotle, Horace).