Neoclassicism was the 18th-century artistic movement that revived classical ideals in art and architecture.
The movement drew inspiration from the art, architecture, literature, and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. It favored order, symmetry, restraint, and clearly defined forms. In architecture, these ideals often appeared as columns, pediments, domes, balanced façades, and temple-like plans.
Neoclassicism developed during the Enlightenment and gained momentum after the archaeological discoveries at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Artists and architects also encountered classical antiquity through the Grand Tour and through the writings of Johann Joachim Winckelmann, who praised what he viewed as the noble simplicity of Greek art. The movement partly reacted against the asymmetry and elaborate ornament of Rococo.
It is often contrasted with Romanticism, but the two overlapped historically. Neoclassicism was especially influential from the mid-18th century into the early 19th century, shaping works by Jacques-Louis David, Antonio Canova, and architects across Europe and the United States.