The return to order (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''retour à l'ordre'') was a European

art movement An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defin ...

that followed the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, rejecting the extreme

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...

art of the years up to 1918 and taking its inspiration from classical art instead. The movement was a reaction to the war.

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

was partially abandoned even by its co-creator

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects suc ...

, which had praised machinery, dynamism, violence and war, was rejected by most of its adherents. The return to order was associated with a revival of classicism and realistic painting. Though classicism had underpinned the fabric of most paintings for the short time it existed, traces of modernist ideals were still extant in the works of many artists, most notably

and to a greater degree

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with Fauvism from 1905, and the role he play ...

, who continued to delineate forms within a recognizable framework. This change of direction was reflected and encouraged by the magazine ''

Valori plastici ''Valori plastici'' (meaning ''Plastic Values'' in English) was an Italian magazine published in Rome in Italian and French. The magazines existed between 1918 and 1921. History and profile ''Valori plastici'' was established in Rome by the paint ...

'' published in Italian and French from 1918 to 1922. The term ''return to order'' to describe this renewed interest in tradition is said to derive from ''Le rappel à l'ordre'', a book of essays by the poet and artist

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

published in 1926.

Notable artists

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

* Andre Derain *

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

Giorgio de Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( , ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the '' scuola metafisica'' art movement, which profoundly infl ...

Gallery

File:Renoir - Seated Bather, 1914.jpg File:André Derain, 1912, Nature morte (Still Life), oil on canvas, 100.5 x 118 cm, State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Black and white).jpg

References

Tate Gallery

''International Herald Tribune''
20th century in art Neoclassical movements {{art-movement-stub

Notable artists

Gallery

See also

References