classical paintings
clas⋅si⋅cal
[klas-i-kuhl]–adjective
1. | of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Greek and Roman antiquity: classical literature; classical languages. |
2. | conforming to ancient Greek and Roman models in literature or art, or to later systems modeled upon them. |
3. | marked by classicism: classical simplicity. |
4. | Music.
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5. | Architecture.
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6. | (often initial capital letter) pertaining to or designating the style of fine arts, esp. painting and sculpture, developed in Greece during the 5th and 4th centuries b.c., chiefly characterized by balanced composition, the separation of figures from an architectural background, and the naturalistic rendering of anatomical details, spatial movement, and distribution of weight in a figure. Compare archaic (def. 4), Hellenistic (def. 5). |
7. | of or pertaining to a style of literature and art characterized by conformity to established treatments, taste, or critical standards, and by attention to form with the general effect of regularity, simplicity, balance, proportion, and controlled emotion (contrasted with romantic ). |
8. | pertaining to or versed in the ancient classics: a classical scholar. |
9. | relating to or teaching academic branches of knowledge, as the humanities, general sciences, etc., as distinguished from technical subjects. |
10. | (of a given field of knowledge) accepted as standard and authoritative, as distinguished from novel or experimental: classical physics. |
11. | classic (defs. 1–5, 8, 10). |
12. | Ecclesiastical. pertaining to a classis. |
–noun
13. | classical music: a jazz pianist who studied classical for years. |
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.