Atrium Catalogue

Architecture of Totalitarian Regimes

of the XXth Century in Urban Management

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Home Glossary Neo-classicism

Neo-classicism

The classical art and culture of ancient Rome and Greece has provided inspiration to many modern movements in Europe. The neo-classical movement coincided with the Enlightenment and flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, finding expression in architecture, art and sculpture, music and literature well into the twentieth century. Classicism appeals to political regimes because it conveys grandeur and simplicity. It is figurative, realist and orderly. These values can be repeated according to a template without running any of the risks of experimentation. Moreover, it is not reliant on modern construction technologies. For this reason, it was embraced equally by fascism and by Soviet communism after the repudiation of modernism in 1932. Neo-classicism was rejected in the Khrushchev era.
Last updated on 20 May 2013 10:58