Understanding the Ancien Régime, Enlightenment, and Art
Ancien Régime
The French revolutionaries coined the term “Ancien Régime” to describe the political situation before the French Revolution of 1789.
Its characteristics included an absolutist political system, an agrarian economy, a stratified society dominated by privileged groups (nobility and clergy), and a significant influence of religion on people, education, and art.
Later, historians used this term to designate the period between the 15th and 18th centuries, a period that underwent profound changes which laid the foundation for the contemporary world.
The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was a cultural, scientific, and philosophical movement born in France during the 18th century that challenged the Ancien Régime, marking the beginning of the Contemporary Age. Its main features were:
- Faith in human reason, liberty, and individual rights.
- Faith in human progress through science and the pursuit of happiness.
- Criticism of the Ancien Régime, especially absolutism, the privileges of the nobility, and superstitions, traditions, and religious dogmas.
Enlightened Thinking
Originating in France with thinkers like Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau, Enlightenment ideas spread across Europe and the Americas through three primary channels: salons or gatherings held in private homes; magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, and brochures; and the Encyclopédie, a work composed of 28 volumes published by Diderot and D’Alembert between 1751 and 1772. It was a collection of Enlightenment ideas that summarized the knowledge of its time and was illustrated with numerous engravings.
Bourbons in Spain
In 1700, Carlos II died without heirs, ending the reign of the House of Habsburg. In his will, the king appointed Felipe de Anjou as his successor, grandson of King Louis XIV, who ascended to the throne as Felipe V. The French House of Bourbon was thus established in Spain.
The potential union between Spain and France, and the subsequent disruption of the balance of power on the continent, led the major European powers to endorse the Archduke Charles of Austria, second son of the German Emperor, as successor. This led to the War of Spanish Succession.
Rococo Art
In the first half of the 18th century, a new artistic style emerged in France: Rococo. It was an aristocratic, refined, and frivolous style.
Rococo decoration was made of stucco with delicate, undulating, and irregular shapes, and it was applied in small salons and receiving rooms. It gained little acceptance in Spain, although some rooms in the Royal Palace of Madrid and the palace of La Granja in Segovia were decorated using this style.
Painting used feathering, soft colors, and varied themes: courtiers, lovers, exotic themes, and portraits. Significant artists were Watteau and Fragonard in France, the author of The Swing, and Luis Paret in Spain, who painted La tienda del anticuario.
Neoclassical Art
Neoclassical Art was initiated in France during the second half of the 18th century. It had a bourgeois, austere, and rational style. Its creativity was limited by the desire to imitate Greek and Roman models and the teachings imposed by the fine art academies (Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, Madrid).
Neoclassical Architecture
Architecture imitated Greek and Roman models and adopted pure and simple forms. The main buildings were churches, palaces, and public buildings (schools, prisons, markets, and hospitals). Significant buildings were the Pantheon in France; the British Museum and the National Gallery in Great Britain; the Brandenburg Gate in Germany; and in Spain, the Puerta de Alcalá by Sabatini, the Prado Museum, and the Astronomical Observatory, both by Juan de Villanueva.
Neoclassical Sculpture
Sculpture sought beauty, simplicity, and serenity. Its subjects included mythology, ancient history, and portraits. The most famous sculptor was the Italian Antonio Canova. In Spain, significant sculptures include the Cibeles fountain in Madrid by Francisco Gutiérrez and the monument to the defense of Zaragoza by Álvarez Cubero.
Neoclassical Painting
Painting sought perfection in drawing and lost interest in color. Its favorite themes were mythological and historical. In France, Jacques Louis David stood out as the author of The Oath of the Horatii and The Intervention of the Sabine Women. In Spain, the German painter Mengs decorated a number of ceilings in the Royal Palace and directed the Royal Academy of San Fernando.