The
return to order was a European art movement that followed the First World War, rejecting the extreme
avant-gardeAvant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
art of the years up to 1918 and taking its inspiration from traditional art instead. The movement was a reaction to the War.
CubismCubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
was abandoned even by its creators, Braque and Picasso, and
FuturismFuturism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
, which had praised machinery, violence and war, was rejected by most of its followers. The return to order was associated with a revival of classicism and realistic painting.
This change of direction was reflected and encouraged by the magazine
Valori PlasticiValori plastici was an Italian magazine published in Rome in Italian and French from 1918 to 1922, edited by painter and art collector Mario Broglio and focused on aesthetic ideals and metaphysical artwork...
published in Italian and French from 1918 to 1922. The term "return to order" to describe this renewed interest in tradition is said to derive from
Le rappel a l'ordre, a book of essays by the poet and artist
Jean CocteauJean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
published in 1926.