Classic, Classical, and Classicism

I

Introduction

Classic, Classical, and Classicism, terms describing the style, historical period, or quality of a work of art, literature, or music; the terms originally were associated with the aesthetic achievements of the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. However, they have come to have much broader meanings and applications.

II

Classic

A term used primarily to denote and characterize a type and style or period of creative work. Strictly speaking, a classic is any ancient Greek or Roman literary work of the first or highest quality— for example, the works of the Greek dramatist Sophocles and the Roman poet Virgil. In a broad sense, the term classic is applied to anything accepted either as a model of excellence or as a work of enduring cultural relevance and value.

III

Classical

In the strictest sense, this is a term used to characterize the art, literature, and aesthetics created by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Broadly speaking, the term classical may be used to characterize any style or period of creative work distinguished by qualities that are mainly suggestive of, or derived from, classical Greek or Roman art, literature, and aesthetics. Chief among these qualities are a sense of conscious restraint in the handling of themes and a sense of rational ordering and proportioning of forms. In architecture, the classical orders are the three Greek orders—the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian—and the two Roman additions to them—the Composite and the Tuscan (see Column).

In an even broader sense, the term classical may be applied to all art and music, to a specific historical period in art and music (about 1750 to 1820), to historically significant systems of thought, and to traditional concepts of form. Thus, the three laws of motion formulated by the English mathematician, physicist, and astronomer Sir Isaac Newton are part of a classical system of celestial mechanics, and a ballet presented in a traditional mode is characterized as a classical ballet.

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IV

Classicism

The imitation or use primarily of the style and aesthetic principles of ancient Greek and Roman classical art and literature; in modern times, it also refers to the adoption of such principles in music. The most important periods during which classicism was the prevailing movement in Western thought and creative art were the Renaissance, the late 17th and early 18th centuries—especially in England and France—and the late 18th and 19th centuries. The term neoclassicism is often used in referring to revivals of classicism. For classicism and neoclassicism in literature, see separate articles on the literature of the various countries.

See also Architecture; Drama and Dramatic Arts; Greek Art and Architecture; Greek Literature; Greek Music; Greek Revival; Latin Literature; Music, Western; Neoclassical Art and Architecture; Painting; Renaissance Art and Architecture; Roman Art and Architecture; Sculpture.

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