Klen became one of the unofficial five-member group called the Neoclassicists. The works of the Neoclassicists were anti-Romantic and antifolkloric. An avowed classicist and Parnassian, he became the leader of the Neoclassicists. Ingres, Canova, and Jacques-Louis David are among the best-known neoclassicists. Neoclassicists also neglected the contest, confident that the project would never materialize. Neoclassicists assert that a competitive market forces producers to minimize the costs of production.