nyklassisk

Nyklassisk, or nyklassicism, refers to a revival of classical forms and values in the arts during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with particular use in Sweden and the Nordic countries. The term describes movements across architecture, music, painting and sculpture that draw on the clarity, balance and forms of ancient Greece and Rome while incorporating contemporary materials and sensibilities. The period roughly spans from the 1910s to the 1930s and often intersects with national romanticism and early modernism.

In architecture nyklassicism is closely related to Nordic Classicism, a regional variant that emphasized geometric form, restrained ornament, and a return to classical vocabulary adapted to local materials and climate. It influenced many public buildings and housing projects, with notable examples in Sweden and Finland, including the Stockholm Public Library by Gunnar Asplund, completed in 1928.

In music neoclassicism sought to return to classical forms such as the sonata and concerto, while employing modern harmony and rhythm. International figures such as Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, and Paul Hindemith produced works in this style from the 1910s through the 1930s, illustrating a broader European trend toward structural clarity and traditional forms.

In the visual arts and literature, nyklassicism favored orderly composition, legible structure, restrained emotion, and idealized forms, often as a counterpoint to late Romanticism and avant-garde experimentation.

Its legacy is mixed: while later modernist and functionalist movements largely superseded it, nyklassicism left lasting influences on public architecture, monuments, and a continued taste for disciplined, timeless aesthetics in certain regions.