Classicism developed in Rome during the late 15^th century as an art form designed to recapture the refinement and perfection of the antique age, where Greek and Roman art had resembled the pinnacle of beauty, symmetry and precision.

The style was particularly popular with the Renaissance artists and leading artists of this style included Michelangelo, Raphael, Correggio and Mantegna, although the movement was later revived in the form of Neoclassicism around the late 18^th and early 19^th century.