Neoclassicism and Romanticism, 1750-1850: Sources and Documents--Volume 1: Enlightenment/Revolution

by Lorenz Eitner

book

165 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1970

Reviews

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful little sourcebook. Not convinced by some of the arguments he made in his introductory notes to various pieces, eg. about the connection between Enlightenment Rationalism and Neoclassicism. By making the German Winckelmann into the founding figure of Neoclassicism, he also obscures the continuity of English Augustan Age & French Golden Age literature with Neoclassical artistic values. This seems to be due to differing periodizations of literary and visual classicisms. This is a minor complaint - in general Eitner's emphasis on the visual arts, and preference for artists over critics, is a useful contrast to the more common literary genealogies of romanticism.