The eighteenth century in Western Europe is the last stage of the long transition from feudalism to Capitalism. In the middle of the century, the process of primitive accumulation of capital was completed, and a struggle was waged in all spheres of society consciousness, a revolutionary situation was ripening. Later, it led to the dominance of classical forms of developed capitalism. Throughout For centuries, a gigantic breakdown of all social and state foundations, concepts and criteria for evaluating the old society took place. Originated A civilized public, periodicals appeared, political parties were formed, there was a struggle for the emancipation of man from the shackles of the feudal-religious worldview.

In the visual arts, the importance of a directly realistic depiction of life increased. The sphere of art has expanded, it became an active exponent of liberating ideas, filled with topicality, fighting spirit, denounced vices and absurdities not only feudal, but also emerging bourgeois society. It also put forward a new positive ideal of the unfettered personality of man, free from hierarchical ideas, developing individual abilities and at the same time endowed with a noble feeling Citizenship. Art became national, appealing not only to a circle of refined connoisseurs, but to a broad democratic environment.

The main trends in the social and ideological development of Western Europe in the 18th century in different countries manifested themselves unevenly. If in England's industrial revolution, which took place in the middle of the 18th century, consolidated the compromise between the bourgeoisie and the nobility, then in France The anti-feudal movement was more widespread and prepared for a bourgeois revolution. Common to all countries was the crisis of feudalism, its ideology, the formation of a broad social movement - the Enlightenment, with its cult of the primary untouched Nature and Reason, its protective, with its criticism of the modern corrupt civilization and the dream of the harmony of blissful nature and the new democratic civilization gravitating towards the state of nature.

The eighteenth century is the century of Reason, all-destructive skepticism and irony, the century of philosophers, sociologists, economists; developed related to Exact natural sciences, geography, archeology, history, materialistic philosophy. Invading the mental life of the age, Scientific knowledge has also created for art the foundation of accurate observation and analysis of reality. The Enlightenment proclaimed the goal art imitation of nature, but nature ordered, improved (Diderot, A. Pope), purified by the mind from harmful effects man-made civilization created by an absolutist regime, social inequality, idleness and luxury. The rationalism of philosophical and aesthetic thought of the 18th century, however, did not suppress the freshness and sincerity of feeling, but gave rise to an aspiration for proportionality, grace, harmonic completeness of artistic phenomena of art, starting with architectural ensembles and ending with applied art. The Enlightenment attached great importance in life and art to feeling - the focus of the noblest aspirations of mankind, feeling, thirsty for purposeful action, which contains the power that revolutionizes life, a feeling capable of reviving the primordial the virtues of the "natural man" (Defoe, Rousseau, Mercier), following the natural laws of nature.

Rousseau's aphorism "Man is great only by his feelings" expressed one of the remarkable aspects of social life 18 century, which gave rise to an in-depth refined psychological analysis in a realistic portrait and genre, the poetry of feelings is imbued with a lyrical landscape (Gainsborough, Watteau, Berne, Robert) "lyrical novel", "prose poems" (Rousseau, Prévost, Marivaux, Fielding, Stern, Richardson), she reaches its highest expression in the rise of music (Handel, Bach, Gluck, Haydn, Mozart, opera composers of Italy). Heroes of artistic Works of painting, graphics, literature and theater of the 18th century became, on the one hand, "small people" - people, like everyone else, put in ordinary the conditions of the epoch, not spoiled by prosperity and privileges, subject to the ordinary natural movements of the soul, content with modest happiness. Artists and writers in them admired sincerity, naïve spontaneity of the soul, close to nature. On the other hand, The focus is on the ideal of an emancipated civilized intellectual person, generated by the Enlightenment culture, analysis of his individual psychology, contradictory states of mind and feelings with their subtle shades, inadvertent impulses and reflective moods.

Sharp observation, a refined culture of thought and feeling are characteristic of all artistic genres of the 18th century. Artists aspired to capture a variety of shades of everyday life situations, original individual images, gravitated towards entertaining narratives and enchanting entertainment, sharp conflict actions, dramatic intrigues and comedic plots, refined grotesque, buffoonery, graceful pastorals, gallant festivities.

New problems were also put forward in architecture. The importance of church construction has decreased, and the role of civil architecture has increased, exquisitely simple, renewed, freed from excessive imposingness. In some countries (France, Russia, partly Germany) The problems of planning the cities of the future were solved. Architectural utopias were born (graphic architectural landscapes – Giovanni Battista Piranesi and the so-called "paper architecture"). The type of private, usually intimate residential building and urban ensembles became characteristic public buildings. At the same time, in the art of the 18th century, in comparison with previous eras, synthetic perception and completeness of life coverage. The former connection of monumental painting and sculpture with architecture was broken, the features of easel painting and sculpture were strengthened in them. decorative. The subject of a special cult was the art of everyday life, decorative forms. At the same time, interaction and cross-fertilization have increased different types of art, the achievements acquired by one type of art were more freely used by others. So, it was very fruitful influence of the theater on painting and music.

The art of the 18th century went through two stages. The first lasted until 1740-1760. It is characterized by a modification of the late forms of the Baroque in Rococo decorative style. The peculiarity of the art of the first half of the 18th century is in the combination of witty and mocking skepticism and Sophistication. This art, on the one hand, is sophisticated, analyzing the nuances of feelings and moods, striving for elegant intimacy, restrained lyricism, on the other hand, gravitating towards the "philosophy of pleasure", to the fabulous images of the East - Arabs, Chinese, Persians. Simultaneously with the Rococo, a realistic direction developed - for some masters it acquired an acutely accusatory character (Hogarth, Swift). The struggle of artistic trends within national schools was openly manifested. The second stage is associated with the deepening of ideological contradictions, the growth of self-consciousness, political activity of the bourgeoisie and the masses. At the turn of the 1760s and 1770s. Royal Academy in France, she opposed Rococo art and tried to revive the ceremonial, idealizing style of academic art of the late 17th century. The gallant and mythological genres gave way to the historical genre with plots borrowed from Roman history. They were called upon to emphasize the greatness of the monarchy that has lost its authority in accordance with the reactionary interpretation of the ideas of "enlightened absolutism".

Representatives of advanced thought turned to the heritage of antiquity. In France, the Comte de Keylus ushered in a scientific era of research in this region (Collection of Antiquities, 7 volumes, 1752–1767). In the middle of the 18th century, the German archaeologist and art historian Winckelmann ("History of the art of antiquity", 1764) called on artists to return to "the noble simplicity and to the calm grandeur of ancient art, carrying it is a reflection of the freedom of the Greeks and Romans of the era of the Republic." The French philosopher Diderot found in ancient history plots that expose tyrants calling for rebellion against them. Classicism arose, which contrasted Rococo decorativeness with natural simplicity, subjective arbitrariness of passions - knowledge of the laws of the real world, a sense of proportion, nobility of thought and actions. Artists For the first time, they studied ancient Greek art on newly discovered monuments. The proclamation of an ideal, harmonious society, the primacy of duty Above feeling, the pathos of reason are common features of classicism of the 17th and 18th centuries. However, the classicism of the 17th century, which arose on the basis of national unification, developed in the heyday of noble society. Classicism of the 18th century is characterized by an anti-feudal revolutionary orientation. He was designed to unite the progressive forces of the nation to fight absolutism. Outside of France, classicism did not have a revolutionary the character with which he was distinguished in the early years of the French Revolution.

Simultaneously with classicism, experiencing its influence, the realistic direction continued to live. It outlined rationalistic Trends: Artists sought to generalize the phenomena of life.

In the second half of the 18th century, sentimentalism was born with its cult of feeling and passion, admiration for everything simple, naïve, sincere. There was also a pre-romantic trend in art associated with it, and interest in the Middle Ages and folk art forms was awakened. Representatives of these currents affirmed the value of noble and active human feelings, revealed the drama of his conflicts with the environment an environment that encouraged interference in real public affairs in the name of justice. They paved the way "to knowledge the human heart and the magical art of representing to the eyes the origin, development and collapse of a great passion" (Lessing) and expressed the brewing need for agitated, pathetic art.