Enlightenment (the second half of the 18th century). Horizons of light and reason

This essay marks the beginning of our exploration of the Classical Era, which spanned from the mid-18th century to the turn of the 20th century and made a significant contribution to the formation of humanity’s core artistic heritage. This era is further divided into three smaller epochs: the Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Post-Romanticism. This work focuses on the Enlightenment (from the mid-18th to the early 19th century), le siècle des lumières – the age of light, which strove to embody ideals such as goodness, justice, humanity, optimism, faith in progress and the triumph of reason, harmony, and the beauty of being. Many manifestations of the art of the Enlightenment are associated with the early stages of human development, such as childhood, adolescence, and youth. This is explained by the fact that this era arose as a reaction to the fading Baroque and anticipated a long evolution up to the turn of the 20th century, including Romanticism, Post-Romanticism, and late classicism.