Return to order (rappel à l’ordre)

A conservative cultural movement in France in the years following World War I. This movement was defined by a renewed interest in classicism, nationalism, and a rejection of the avant-garde. Many artists—especially those who experienced battle firsthand—were deeply affected by the destabilization wrought by WWI and the horrors of modern industrial warfare, and reacted to this shock by rejecting new, experimental art in favor of work that embraced academic fine-art traditions and emphasized balance, precision, and order.