General features of classical painting.
In classical painting, the ideal of seriousness, harmony, peace and order emphasizes static: the composition of the paintings is based on vertical and horizontal layouts; linearny, a clear outline defines the shape of the figure; form takes precedence over color, which is generally cool and subdued (in accordance with Winckelmann's thesis about the rational origin of form and the emotional origin of color); chiaroscuro models the figures softly, but clearly, like sculptural statues; the texture is smooth and even, and brush marks carefully covered up.
In the subject matter of their canvases, classicist painters also refer to antiquity, but mainly for this purpose, to find analogies with contemporary political and historical events in situations taken from ancient history. However, they also paint scenes from contemporary history, and they achieve a special mastery in portraiture.