Classical ornament

Examples of Classical ornament in the following topics:

• Architecture

  • In its purest form, neoclassicism is a style principally derived from the architecture of Classical Greece and Rome.
  • This movement manifested in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing features of Late Baroque.
  • In its purest form, neoclassicism is a style principally derived from the architecture of Classical Greece and Rome.
  • Though neoclassical architecture employs the same classical vocabulary as Late Baroque architecture, it tends to emphasize its planar qualities rather than its sculptural volumes.
  • It is also recognizable in the classicizing vein of Late Baroque architecture in Paris.

• Chicago School of Architecture

  • One of the distinguishing features of the Chicago School is the use of steel-frame buildings with masonry cladding (usually terra cotta), allowing large plate-glass window areas and limiting the amount of exterior ornamentation.
  • Many Chicago School skyscrapers contain the three parts of a classical column.
  • The first floor functions as the base, the middle stories, usually with little ornamental detail, act as the shaft of the column, and the last floor or so represent the capital, with more ornamental detail and capped with a cornice.

• Neoclassical Architecture

  • Neoclassical architecture looks to the classical past of the Graeco-Roman era, the Renaissance, and classicized Baroque to convey a new era based on Enlightenment principles.
  • Neoclassical architecture, which  began in the mid-eighteenth century, looks to the classical past of the Graeco-Roman era, the Renaissance, and classicized Baroque to convey a new era based on Enlightenment principles.
  • This movement manifested in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing features of Late Baroque.
  • Even sacred architecture was classicized during the Neoclassical period.
  • The trend toward the classical is also recognizable in the classicizing vein of Late Baroque architecture in Paris.

• Neoclassicism

  • The classical revival, also known as Neoclassicism, refers to movements in the arts that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome.
  • The latter, with its emphasis on asymmetry, bright colors, and ornamentation is typically considered to be the direct opposite of the Neoclassical style, which is based on order, symmetry and simplicity.
  • In music, the period saw the rise of classical music and in painting, the works of Jaques-Louis David became synonymous with the classical revival.
  • Executed in a classical style and adhering to classical themes, this sculpture is a typical example of the Neoclassical style.
  • Its austere facade, arched doorways and minimal symmetry reflect his adherence to classical stylistic values.

• The Ragas of Classical Indian Music

  • The ragas of classical India and other, similar traditions, are more like modes than they are like scales.
  • Some pitches will get more emphasis than others; some will be used one way in an ascending melody and another way in a descending melody; some will be used in certain types of ornaments.
  • The result is that each raga is a collection of melodic scales, phrases, motifs, and ornaments, that may be used together to construct music in that raga.
  • Indian classical music is usually accompanied by a tanpura, which plays a drone background.
  • (Please see Listening to Indian Classical Music and Indian Classical Music: Tuning and Ragas for more information on this subject. )

• Rococo in Painting and Sculpture

  • Rococo style in painting echoes the qualities evident in other manifestations of the style including serpentine lines, heavy use of ornament as well as themes revolving around playfulness, love and nature.
  • Painting during the Rococo period has many of the same qualities as other Rococo art forms such as heavy use of ornament, curved lines and the use of a gold and pastel-based palette.
  • Watteau is known for his soft application of paint, dreamy atmosphere, and depiction of classical themes that often revolve around youth and love, exemplified in the painting ‘Pilgrimage on the Isle of Scythia' .
  • The prevalent themes in Rococo sculpture echoed those of the other mediums, with the display of classical themes, cherubs, love, playfulness, and nature being depicted most often as exemplified in the sculpture ‘Pygmalion and Galatee' .
  • Watteau's signature soft application of paint, dreamy atmosphere and depiction of classical themes that often revolve around youth and love is evident in his work 'Pilgrimage to Cythera. '

• Postmodern

  • Postmodern architecture was a response to Modernism and a return to wit, ornamentation, and previous architectural traditions.
  • Postmodernity in architecture is said to be heralded by the return of wit, ornamentation, and references to previous architectural traditions.
  • A vivid example of this new approach was that Postmodernism saw the comeback of columns and other elements of premodern designs, sometimes adapting classical Greek and Roman examples--yet not simply recreating them like with Neoclassical architecture .
  • Modernism's preoccupation with Functionalism and economical building meant that ornaments were done away with and that buildings appeared stark and merely functional.

• Other Non-Western Modal Musics

  • To the average Western listener, medieval European chant and classical Indian music are the two most familiar traditions that are not based on major and minor scales.
  • In other music traditions, modes are much more like Indian ragas, featuring important variations in tuning and melodic expectations from one mode to the next, so that each mode may be seen as a collection of related melodic ideas, phrases, and ornamentations that are traditionally played with a certain set of notes tuned in a certain way.

• European Expressionist Architecture

  • While art nouveau had an organic freedom with ornament, expressionist architecture strove to free the form of the whole building instead of just its parts.
  • This sculpted building shows a relativistic and shifting view of geometry: devoid of applied ornament, form and space are shaped in fluid concrete to express concepts of the architect and the building's namesake.
  • In Mendelsohn's design, form and space are shaped in fluid concrete and devoid of applied ornament.

• Classical Greek Architecture

  • Classical Greek architecture can be divided into three separate styles: the Doric Order, the Ionic Order, and the Corinthian Order.
  • Revivals of Classicism have also brought about renewed interest in the architectural styles of ancient Greece.
  • The Parthenon is considered the most important surviving building of classical Greece and the zenith of Doric Order architecture.
  • The external frieze often contained a continuous band of figurative sculpture of ornament, though this was not always the case.
  • They were shaped like a bell-shaped mixing bowl and ornamented with a double row of acanthus leaves above which rose splayed, voluted tendrils.