The french philosopher and scientist Jean d Alembert prophesied that the birth of the modern world would begin by revolutions that would reflect the social economic scientific and political values that our government holds today Two revolutions occurred during the middle and late 18th century The Industrial revolution occurred in Britain and the political revolution began in the United States in 1776 and France in 1789 The period in which revolutions began was known as The Age of Enlightenment that occurred in Britain France Germany and the United States During this time a new perspective of Enlightenment was influenced by two influential figures of the 18th century British philosopher John Locke and physics and mathematician Isaac Newton Both Newton and Locke s valued the idea that people can only gain knowledge through rational experience rather than religious practice or revelation Their way of thinking spurred an enormous amount of treaties and theories that were created throughout the 18th century Enlightenment influenced the modern world by causing a new wave of modern science such as the discovery of electricity oxygen chemistry and natural science Contradicting transformations that occurred during the second half of the 18th century were from the old to modern aristocracy to democracy agriculture industry and rural to urban The art of this period also had contradictory elements which are referred as Neoclassicism Neoclassical art represented the virtuous deeds of the ancient Greeks and Romans However most neoclassicism work was really contemporary genre scenes that had a feel of classical antiquity and represented similar moral values Neoclassic art embraced logic and morality as it valued the linear and cool compositions of the Italian Renaissance and French classicism However it rejected the pastel colors and abundant display of sensual and erotic compositions of Rococo even deeming the style as immoral aristocratic and frivolous Even though the rational side of Neoclassicism dominated the 18th century elements of Rococo art still existed inside Neoclassical paintings It was not until artist Jacques Louis David gave Neoclassic art a definite identity Romanticism and Piranesi A new style called Romanticism also formed after the second half of the 18th century Unlike Neoclassicism Romanticism valued emotion and set to invoke emotional responses within the viewer Giovanni Battista Piranesi set the course for the Romanticism art style Piranesi s prints influenced the architecture by 18th century artists His creation of Roman Antiquities was a response to Winckelmann s ridicule of the ancient Romans The Roman Antiquities illustrates hundreds of etches of colossal and looming Roman ruins that demonstrate the herculean strength supremacy of the Roman civilization The images not only demonstrated awe but also melancholy as they depict the effect time has over the once great buildings as well as the decline of the Roman empire These paintings not only inform but invoke a response of astonishment and fright within the viewer Benjamin West Contemporary History Painting Benjamin West a successful British neoclassical and historical painter was responsible for the increased popularity of contemporary history paintings Born a quaker near Philadelphia West went to ROme to study classical art of the Italian Renaissance He later became the president of the Royal Academy in 1768 as well as a mentor for American artists In 1770 West began a contemporary history painting called The Death of General Wolfe The setting of the painting was during the French and Indian war in Quebec in 1759 Although there was a dispute over the creation of this painting it became popular because of the authenticity of the contemporary scene makes the audience feel that they were witnessing the events as they was happening Despite its contemporary feel Wests classicized the figures and event by placing the setting in a traditional Lamentation scene The fallen hero General Wolfe receives the likeness of christ while the surrounding soldiers the apostles express their remorse and concern Architecture and Landscapes Palladian revival In britain classical revival also began in architecture Idealy British architecture was based on classical villas created by Antonio Palladio which used harmonious elements such as geometry mathematics and logic Colin Campbell s three volume treatise Vitruvius Britannicus illustrated dozens of his original Palladian style homes In the early 18th century alongside with William Kent Lord Burlington a patron of Campbell created the Chiswick house which became one of the most famous Palladian revival houses Landscape The English Landscape Although the Chiswick house has geometric logical and rational elements the grounds are made to look natural without being bothered by human intervention The English landscape is regarded as picturequest rather than geometric The landscape garden was not intended to be a depiction of nature but rather the idealization of one often found in Baroque classicism Interior Strawberry Hill During the mid 18th century in Britain there was a Gothic revival which was influenced by Gothic literature With the help of his friends Horace Walpole is credited with reviving Gothic fashion with his redesign of Strawberry Hill However the interior of his house represents Rococo delicateness while invoking picturesque qualities of the Gothic style George Stubbs The Lion Attacking a Horse Greatly influenced by prints of colossal Roman monuments artist George Stubbs created his own series that included 21 paintings of a lion attacking a horse Although Stubbs studied greek and Roman art he valued nature over antiquity After leaving Rome He later became known as the painter of horses in England as he often dissected them to study their anatomy By doing this Stubbs was able to create extremely accurate depictions of horses Stubbs Romantic painting Lion Attacking a Horse clearly invokes an emotional response within the viewer as we identify with the horse who is symbolically painted white and fear the menacing figure of the lion that is almost disappearing into dark landscape of the composition The ominous black storm clouds in the background represent the looming death of the horse Jean Henry Fuseli The Nightmare Early Romanticism reached its high point in Britain by the work of the swiss artist Jean Henry Fuseli Fuseli s goal was to invoke a great emotional response within the