In France and in southern European countries like Catalonia, the return to classicism took on a special tone in what became known as Mediterraneanism. The idea that the Graeco-Latin Mediterranean was the true cradle of civilisation and that the luminosity, harmony and rhythm associated with classicism are qualities that run through society, from its elites to its humblest classes, constituted a utopia of social pacification with which to oppose the violent and unruly reality of society. Sculpture, which was directly associated with an idealised image of Antiquity and was the art form par excellence, became the favourite medium of the time.