Main Page: Thesis
In the Bible, Abraham rebelled against old ways
by smashing his fatherÕs idols and thus created modern monotheistic religion.
Similarly, the philosophers of the
Enlightenment in the 17th century
rebelled against old ideals. Abraham had two sons by different wives: Isaac
and Ishmail. Isaac became the patriarch of Judaism while Ishmail became the
patriarch of Islam, the two religions whose conflict has been at the root
of much strife. The Enlightenment had two children of modern art: Neoclassicism
and Romanticism. The antagonism of Isaac and Ishmail, the apparent opposites
and causes for age-old conflict, is congruent to that of Neoclassicism
and Romanticism. The conflict
between the two artistic movements, though not religious, can be best described
as Òthe noncoalescence between reason and feelingÓ
[1]
is argued with similar fervor. The
two movements were seen as distinct, separate, and opposing because
of the way they approached such topics as Nature, God, and humanity. These
opposing stances were manifested in the art. However, the two movements were
actually complementary, yin and yang, unable to exist without one another.
It is important to remember that the two child-movements came
from the same source, the Enlightenment, and are similar in that they are
both modern. Instead of seeing
Neoclassicism and Romanticism as opposites because of their fundamental tenets,
it is best to see them as Òtwo sides of the same modern coin.Ó
[2]