Neo-Classicism was the dominant artistic and architectural movement in Europe from the mid-eighteenth to the early nineteenth century. It sought to revive the ideals of ancient Greece and Rome, valuing clarity, order, proportion and noble simplicity in contrast to the exuberance of the Rococo.
The movement was stimulated by the excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii, by the publication of archaeological studies and by the Grand Tour, which brought wealthy travellers into direct contact with classical sites and collections. Writers such as Johann Joachim Winckelmann promoted Greek art as the highest model of beauty. Neo-Classicism shaped every field of design: the architecture and interiors of Robert Adam, the furniture of Hepplewhite and Sheraton, the jasperware and basalts of Josiah Wedgwood, and the silver and lighting of makers such as Matthew Boulton. In France it is associated with the Louis XVI and Empire periods. The movement's influence persisted well into the nineteenth century, and classical motifs remain a familiar part of British design today.
