Definitions for "neoclassicism"
a revival of the classical Greek and Roman style in art or literature.
Aesthetic movement characterized by interest in the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the United States, in search of foundational models to replace its former reliance on Great Britain, turned to examples from the ancient world, particularly the Roman republic, and, to a lesser extent, ancient Greece. Americans associated classical Greece and Rome with the virtuous, anti-aristocratic political and cultural ideals they hoped would prevail in the United States. The American neoclassical ideal did not entail a lavish imitation of ancient forms but rather demanded modern interpretations and revitalization of old forms.
A mid-18th Century art movement started in Rome and aimed at recreating the art of ancient Greece and Rome. It was a reaction to the excesses of BAROQUE and ROCOCO and part of a Classical revival that continued into the 19th Century.