In architecture, Neoclassicism (or merely classicism) signalled a return to order and rationalityafter the flamboyant Baroque, and the decorative frivolity of the Rococo. As a style composed of many elements, based to a varying extent on the antique forms of Greek architecture and Roman architecture, neoclassical architecture can be imitated to a greater or lesser extent. For this reason, building designers have continued to borrow from Greek and Roman models ever since the mid-17th century – one might even say, since the fall of Rome in the fifth century! – which makes neoclassicism the world’s most popular style of building

Early Neoclassical Architecture (1640-1750)

The earliest forms of neoclassical architecture grew up alongside the Baroque, and functioned as a sort of corrective to the latter’s flamboyance. This is particularly evident in England, where examples of early neoclassicism include buildings like St Paul’s Cathedral, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, and the Royal Chelsea Hospital, all designed by Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) who is still labelled as a Baroque architect. Other early English Neoclassicist architects included William Kent (1685-1748), who designed Chiswick House and the Royal Mews, Charing Cross; and Robert Adam (1728-92), who designed Syon House, Bowood House, and the Theatre Royal London. At the same time, the Renaissance architecture of the Italian Andrea Palladio (1508-80) were repopularised and a new Palladism spread throughout Europe and America. See also: Neoclassical Sculptors (1750-1850).

Features of Neoclassical Architecture (1750-1850)

Used in a variety of image-related construction programs – by feudal monarchies, enlightened democracies, totalitarian regimes and worldwide empires – Neoclassicism was yet another return to the Classical Orders of Greek and Roman Antiquity on a monumental level, albeit with the retention of all the engineering advances and new materials of the modern era. It was marked by large-scale structures, supported and/or decorated by columns of Doric, Ionic or Corinthian pillars, surmounted by enlarged Renaissance-style domes. Sometimes columns were multiplied and stacked, to create an impression of height, while facades were decorated with a combination of colonnades, rotundas and porticoes.

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**************Find an example of Neoclassical architecture anywhere in Los Angeles County (not on-line, but please let me know of any challenges in this regard). This structure can be anything from a municipal building to a private residence. Take a photo of the building and submit it with a discussion about the building’s Neoclassical characteristics. Let me know the address of the building, as well*************

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