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Molière was a French actor and playwright. "In the 1660s he successfully combined neoclassicism, commedia dell'arte, and French farce in plays that ridiculed social and moral pretense"(Pipino). These famous comedic plays include Tartuffe (1664), The Misanthrope (1666), and The Imaginary Invalid (1673) (Pipino). Molière set the neoclassical standard for comedy. -
French neoclassicism became the dominant style in Europe in the 17th and 18th Centuries (Pipino). "The tenets of neoclassicism mimic the ideals for theatre laid out by Horace in Ars Poetica: purity of genre- tragedy and comedy should not be mixed; verisimilitude- the story should have the appearance of truth and the actions be probable; decorum- a character's behavior should stay in keeping with their sex, social standing, and occupation..."; as well as other strict rules (Pipino ch5).
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French neoclassicism became the dominant style in Europe in the 17th and 18th Centuries (Pipino). "The tenets of neoclassicism mimic the ideals for theatre laid out by Horace in Ars Poetica: purity of genre- tragedy and comedy should not be mixed; verisimilitude- the story should have the appearance of truth and the actions be probable; decorum- a character's behavior should stay in keeping with their sex, social standing, and occupation..."; as well as other strict rules (Pipino ch5).
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"Cardinal Richelieu was a French clergyman, noblemand, statesman, serving as King Louis XIII's Chief Minister (sometimes also called First Minister) from 1624" (France and Cardinal). In 1637 he founded the Académie Française (or French Academy). "It was approved by Richelieu as a part of an effort to both encourage French culture and introduce a measure of state control over its direction" (L’Académie). The Academy was made up of 40 educated members, given royal charter, and strictly neoclassic. -
Pierre Corneille (1606-1684), a pioneer of his era, ignited controversy over his play Le Cid (Pipino). Though Le Cid was popular among audiences, the French Academy "...issued a judgement that acknowledged the play's beauties but criticized it as dramatically implausible and morally defective" (Le Cid). The issues centered on Le Cid breaking the neoclassical rules: mixed comedy/tragedy, broke the unities of time, place, and action, and had morally complex characters (Le Cid). -
"After the Academy's ruling on Le Cid, strict neoclassicism could be seen in the work of of Jean Racine (1639-1699)" (Pipino ch5). Racine was classically trained, and he reworked older plays to fit the neoclassical rules of this period (Pipino). " He adapted Euripedes' tragedy, Hippolytus, into a pure example of neoclassicism, Phaedre" (Pipino ch5). Racine is famous for mastering the French classic tragedy with other plays like Andromaque, Britannicus, and Bajazet (Tobin). -
King Louis XIV ruled 1643-1715. He was a patron of the art, which eventually led to large public theatres being built in Paris (Pipino). The King's ideals mirrored the neoclassic, enlightenment ideals. "... it emphasized reason, order, and neoclassical principles, reacting against Baroque extravagance and reflecting the absolutist monarchies' centralized power" (French neoclassicism). Because the King supported theatre financially and institutionally, the arts were able to continue developing. -
King Louis XIV ruled 1643-1715. He was a patron of the art, which eventually led to large public theatres being built in Paris (Pipino). The King's ideals mirrored the neoclassic, enlightenment ideals. "... it emphasized reason, order, and neoclassical principles, reacting against Baroque extravagance and reflecting the absolutist monarchies' centralized power" (French neoclassicism). Because the King supported theatre financially and institutionally, the arts were able to continue developing.
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Comédie-Française was founded by King Louis XIV and is often referred to as "the house of Molière"(La Comédie-Française). "Scholars of the French 18th Century know the plays of the 17th Century greats, Molière, Racine, and Pierre Corneille, were frequently performed, but the troupe's full repertory in the 113 year period consisted of more than 1000 plays written by more than 300 authors spread across more than 33,000 nightly performances" (Ravel). The theatre still is actively operating today. -
Sturm und Drang was a German literary movement, one of many movements, that left behind the rules of neoclassicism for the ideals of Romanticism (Storm,Stress). "For much of the 18th Century rationality and objective detachment had been prized in poetry and art, but writers of the Sturm und Drang movement believed that powerful emotions, rather than intellectual reason, should be the driving force behind artistic work"(Storm,Stress). Musicians and painters adopted romanticism too(Storm,Stress). -
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"François-Joseph Talma (1763-1826) was a French actor and theatrical company manager (at Comédie-Française), whose reforms in acting styles, stage costuming, and scenery made him a leading precursor of the 19th Century French Romanticism and Realism"(François). Talma was more historically accurate, as well as insisted on acting in a natural manner, opposed to a declamatory style (François). He became the master tragedian of the era, gaining the admiration and patronage of Napoleon (François). -
Anne Louise Germaine Necker, Madame de Staël published literary works. "She played a crucial role in the romantic movement by advocating for emotional expression and individualism, which contrasted with the Enlightenment's focus on reason and rationality" (Fiveable). She discreetly supported feminism by engaging in conversations of politics and the criticizing of Napoleon, which led to her being exiled from France for several years (Madame de Staël). Her work influenced others to her ideas. -