Editing Neoclassicism (section)

==Sculpture==
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Franz Xaver Messerschmidt - Charakterkopf 03.jpg|''An Arch-Rascal'' (no. 33 in a character head series); by [[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]]; after 1770; alabaster; height: 38&nbsp;cm; [[Österreichische Galerie Belvedere]], Vienna, Austria<ref>{{cite book|last1=|first1=|title=ART ● Architecture ● Painting ● Sculpture ● Graphics ● Design|date=2011|publisher=Gardners Books|isbn=978-1-4454-5585-3|page=313|url=|language=en}}</ref>

Mars and Venus, 1804 CE, by Johan Tobias Sergel, Nationalmuseum, Sweden.jpg|''Mars and Venus''; by [[Johan Tobias Sergel]]; {{circa}}1775; marble; height: 93&nbsp;cm; [[Nationalmuseum]], Stockholm, Sweden<ref name="art - The Definitive Visual History">{{cite book|last1=Andrew|first1=Graham-Dixon|title=art - The Definitive Visual History|date=2023|publisher=Dorling Kindersley Limited|isbn=978-0-2416-2903-1|page=273|url=|language=en}}</ref>

Mercury Pajou Louvre RF1624.jpg|''Mercury'' or ''The Trade''; by [[Augustin Pajou]]; 1780; marble; height: 196&nbsp;cm; [[Louvre]]

SculpturesMuséeFabre27b Houdon Hiver.jpg|''The Winter''; by [[Jean-Antoine Houdon]]; 1783; marble; height: 145&nbsp;cm; [[Musée Fabre]], Montpellier, France<ref>{{cite book|last1=Laneyrie-Dagen|first1=Nadeije|title=Historie de l'art pour tous|date=2021|publisher=Hazan|isbn=978-2-7541-1230-7|page=264|url=|language=fr}}</ref>

John Flaxman (1755-1826) - Cephalus and Aurora (1789-90) front, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, Cheshire, June 2013 (9103113142).png|''Cephalus and Aurora''; by [[John Flaxman]]; 1789–1790; probably marble; unknown dimensions; [[Lady Lever Art Gallery]], Merseyside, England

Alte Nationalgalerie-Schadow-Prinzessinnengruppe DSC8124.jpg|''The Princesses Louisa and Friderica of Prussia''; by [[Johann Gottfried Schadow]]; 1795–1797; marble; height: 172&nbsp;cm; [[Alte Nationalgalerie]], Berlin, Germany<ref name="art - The Definitive Visual History"/>

Paolina Borghese (Canova).jpg|''[[Venus Victrix (Canova)|Venus Victrix]]''; by [[Antonio Canova]]; 1804–1808; marble; length: 200&nbsp;cm; [[Galleria Borghese]], Rome<ref>{{cite book|last1=Laneyrie-Dagen|first1=Nadeije|title=Historie de l'art pour tous|date=2021|publisher=Hazan|isbn=978-2-7541-1230-7|page=265|url=|language=fr}}</ref>

File:Juliette Récamier face A par Joseph Chinard.jpg|''Bust of Madame Récamier''; by [[Joseph Chinard]]; 1805 or 1806; marble; 80 x 42 x 30&nbsp;cm; [[Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon]], France

File:Canova - The Three Graces, between 1813 and 1816, Н.ск-506.jpg|''[[The Three Graces (Canova)|The Three Graces]]''; by Antonio Canova; 1813–1816; marble; height: 1.82 m; [[Hermitage Museum]], Saint Petersburg, Russia{{sfn|Fortenberry|2017|p=278}}

Ganymede Waters Zeus as an Eagle by Thorvaldsen.jpg|''Ganymede and Jupiter''; by [[Bertel Thorvaldsen]]; 1817; marble; height: 94&nbsp;cm; [[Thorvaldsen Museum]], Copenhagen, Denmark<ref name="art - The Definitive Visual History"/>
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If Neoclassical painting suffered from a lack of ancient models, Neoclassical sculpture tended to suffer from an excess of them. Although examples of actual Greek sculpture of the "[[Classical Greece|Classical Period]]" beginning in about 500 BC were then very few; the most highly regarded works were mostly Roman copies.<ref>Novotny, 378</ref> The leading Neoclassical sculptors enjoyed huge reputations in their own day, but are now less regarded, with the exception of [[Jean-Antoine Houdon]], whose work was mainly portraits, very often as busts, which do not sacrifice a strong impression of the sitter's personality to idealism. His style became more classical as his long career continued, and represents a rather smooth progression from Rococo charm to classical dignity. Unlike some Neoclassical sculptors he did not insist on his sitters wearing Roman dress, or being unclothed. He portrayed most of the notable figures of the Enlightenment, and travelled to America to produce a [[George Washington (Houdon)|statue of George Washington]], as well as busts of [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[Benjamin Franklin]] and other founders of the new republic.<ref>Novotny, 378–379</ref><ref>Chinard, Gilbert, ed., ''Houdon in America'' Arno PressNy, 1979, a reprint of a book published by Johns Hopkins University, 1930</ref>

[[Antonio Canova]] and the Dane [[Bertel Thorvaldsen]] were both based in Rome, and as well as portraits produced many ambitious life-size figures and groups; both represented the strongly idealizing tendency in Neoclassical sculpture. Canova has a lightness and grace, where Thorvaldsen is more severe; the difference is exemplified in their respective groups of the ''Three Graces''.<ref>Novotny, 379–384</ref> All these, and Flaxman, were still active in the 1820s, and Romanticism was slow to impact sculpture, where versions of Neoclassicism remained the dominant style for most of the 19th century.

An early Neoclassicist in sculpture was the Swede [[Johan Tobias Sergel]].<ref>Novotny, 384–385</ref> [[John Flaxman]] was also, or mainly, a sculptor, mostly producing severely classical reliefs that are comparable in style to his prints; he also designed and modelled Neoclassical ceramics for [[Josiah Wedgwood]] for several years. [[Johann Gottfried Schadow]] and his son [[Rudolph Schadow|Rudolph]], one of the few Neoclassical sculptors to die young, were the leading German artists,<ref>Novotny, 388–389</ref> with [[Franz Anton von Zauner]] in Austria. The late Baroque Austrian sculptor [[Franz Xaver Messerschmidt]] turned to Neoclassicism in mid-career, shortly before he appears to have suffered some kind of mental crisis, after which he retired to the country and devoted himself to the highly distinctive "character heads" of bald figures pulling extreme facial expressions.<ref>Novotny, 390–392</ref> Like Piranesi's ''Carceri'', these enjoyed a great revival of interest during the age of [[psychoanalysis]] in the early 20th century. The Dutch Neoclassical sculptor [[Mathieu Kessels]] studied with Thorvaldsen and worked almost exclusively in Rome.

Since prior to the 1830s the United States did not have a sculpture tradition of its own, save in the areas of tombstones, weathervanes and ship figureheads,<ref>Gerdts, William H., ''American Neo-Classic Sculpture: The Marble Resurrection'',  Viking Press, New York, 1973 p. 11</ref> the European Neoclassical manner was adopted there, and it was to hold sway for decades and is exemplified in the sculptures of [[Horatio Greenough]], [[Harriet Hosmer]], [[Hiram Powers]], [[Randolph Rogers]] and [[William Henry Rinehart]].