The historical piece of The Death of Marat, tells the events of Jean Paul Marat’s death. In this painting, we see a slumped over Marat in a bathtub, dead. He was murdered by a young royalist by the name of Charlotte Corday, who believed she was the new Joan of Arc. Morat had spent most of his time in the tub because of his eczema, and after his death David managed to create a monumental setting out of Marat’s lowly bath tub. Marat had been intent on not giving up his life on his skin condition and had been a probono lawyer representing the poor and oppressed. Despite his illness. he still wanted to give everything to others. Marat preferred virtue to fortune, saying pen was mightier than sword. So in the end, he had died thinking he was defending someone else who ended up betraying him. David’s painting not only captures Marat’s brutal murder, but also the political circumstances in France. The work was commissioned by the National Assembly, shining light to the problems …show more content…
In David’s Oath of the Horatii he captures a scene with two very different parts. Three arches in the background encase each aspect of the story. We see a man under the center arc, sending his three sons off to battle. The three sons stand in the first arch, while we see women (presumably their wives) weep with despair beneath the third. The total of four men in the painting are rigid and straight. They are the embodiments of the neoclassical style which is a reinvention of the prior classical style. The women, however, are to the right, overcome by emotion. The elongated figures with their strong facial expressions are presentations of the baroque style. In Oath of the Horatii, men are dominating. The males have overcome emotion and attachment to their families, devoting themselves to the state, triumphant over female
The painting “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère” is detail oriented and depicts unpopular topics. Examples of the details are green shoes dangling, a lady using binoculars in the reflection of the mirror, and the colors on the lady’s cheeks. Manet’s uses oranges to represent prostitution, and to others this is an unpleasant topic. The painting is relevant today in that people want details on where all of their hard earn money has gone. Why are people losing their homes, and if the market is lousy, why is it only lousy for the lower and middle class?
The artists Jean-Honore Fragonard and Jaques-Louis David both successfully embody their respective stylistic differences. Fragonard’s style of painting is Rococo, which is characterized by its softness, asymmetry and curviness. Contrasting these ideals is David’s style of painting, Neo-Classicism. Neo-Classicism is synonymous with strong gestures, symmetry, and solidness. Two works that best exemplify the ideals of each style of painting are Fragonard’s The Swing, 1767 and David’s The Death of Socrates, 1787. Although at first glance, it is easier to focus on how each work is different to the other, one can argue that they are similar in theme. Both The Swing and The Death of Socrates are works that deal with the theme of decision making. However, they differ in how each work portrays the theme of deciding. While The Swing focuses on infidelity and the process of deciding, The Death of Socrates makes it clear that loyalty to government is stronger than the ties of friendship or acquaintance. By examining use of light, form, subject matter as well as other artistic elements, one can see how each artist conveys a message by utilizing their style of art.
In the Enseigne, art is also shown to serve a function that it has always fulfilled in every society founded on class differences. As a luxury commodity it is an index of social status. It marks the distinction between those who have the leisure and wealth to know about art and posses it, and those who do not. In Gersaint’s signboard, art is presented in a context where its social function is openly and self-consciously declared. In summary, Watteau reveals art to be a product of society, nevertheless he refashions past artistic traditions. Other than other contemporary painters however, his relationship to the past is not presented as a revolt, but rather like the appreciative, attentive commentary of a conversational partner.
Mercer, Jeremy. When the Guillotine Fell: The Bloody Beginning and Horrifying End to France's River of Blood, 1791-1977. New York: St. Martin's, 2008. Print.
David was born to a wealthy family in France and became passionate about art. After many attempts to win the Prix de Rome, David was awarded the scholarship in 1774 and moved to Rome to study art at the academy. The time spent here in Rome was a major influence on the subject matter of many David paintings. After returning home to France David was inspired by Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Social Contract where Rousseau appealed for a new form of governmental structure. The Oath of the Horatii, completed in 1784, became an inspiring painting for the Revolution as its narrative was a commitment for change. In this painting the Horatii brothers were willing to die for their country and raise their hand in an oath for Rome while their father uplifts their swords they will go and fight with. The women know this may be necessary but they display sadness at the thought of losing their loved ones. The painting displays a simplicity and stateliness that is a calling card for the Neoclassical period.
Painted in Rome in the style of Neo-Classicism, Jacques Louis David’s Oath of the Horatii is one of the better-known examples of art produced by this artist of eclectic styles. This painting was hailed as the manifesto of a new school based on the fervent study of the antique and a return to classical techniques in the late 18th century. In this painting, completed in 1785 as an oil on canvas, David (DA-VEED) successfully coalesces the nascent and confused ideology of the Neo-Classical movement in a dramatic portrayal of the Horatii brothers swearing their allegiance to the state as their father stands with swords held high for them to grasp. An analysis of the painting’s historical background, and an evaluation of the lines, colors, and subject matter, will illustrate why Oath of the Horatii represents the defining characteristics of the Neo-Classical period.
Dr. Manette is imprisoned in the French Bastille for eighteen years by the cruel French government and unknown to him those many years of pain and suffering serve as a great sacrifice in the eyes of the Revolutionists. He is recalled to life from the time he served when he meets Lu...
Taking place during the period of the Age of Reason and the French revolution, Neo-classicism consisted of artists who valued the old Greek and Roman culture. Straying away from the former Rocco period, the artists of Neo-classicism thought of themselves as new Greeks and Romans. As they admired the simple forms of Greek and Roman antiquity, the Neo-classicists noticed the ancient golden age where order, justice and morality prevailed (Koster 78). Clean lines, perfect contours, virtue and heroism were reflected during the remarkable Neo-classicism period. While demonstrating that frothy art was unnecessary, Neo-classicist artists celebrated history and civic pride (Hodge 73). Because they copied the works of the Greek and Romans, the artists of this period profoundly believed in science, nature and logical thought, they painted scenes from history and mythology with the hero always at the center of the action (Raczka 9). One of the major artists of the Neo-Classicism period was Jacques- Louis David. As he believed in liberty, equality and fraternity David often looked back at the moral values of the Greek and Romans. During the time of the Neo-classicism period artists flouri...
Although the painting itself displays many impressive artistic styles, it is also important to consider the artwork’s historical context. The Raft of the Medusa depicts the aftermath of the shipwreck of the French naval frigate Médusa, which crashed off the African coast. The desperate passengers then built a makeshift raft from the pieces of the destroyed ship, which is the moment depicted in Géricault’s painting. Particularly, The Raft of the Medusa was a contemporary piece that commented on the practice of slavery and the incompetence of the new French government in the early 19th century. Géricault, an abolitionist, sought ways to end the slave trade in the colonies. The anti-slavery cause was well known at the time and was highly promoted by the abolitionists throughout France. Thus, due to Géricault’s repugnance towards slavery, it is only fitting ...
In a time when artistic freedom was severely limited, the French Impressionists tirelessly explored new artistic frontiers despite hostile encounters with the public, ultimately redefining the world’s perspective on art.
The Oath of the Horatii by David was a symbolic painting for the French because it symbolized the war that was yet to come for them. This oil painting presents 3 brothers of Rome taking an oath to the swords that their father is presenting to them, and three women who are very emotional. During the Age of Enlightenment, they saw women as incapable of being heroic because they are too wrapped up in their emotions; and that may be something that David is trying to show. One of the women is crying because her brother killed her husband (which was one of the competitors from Alba fighting against the brothers; and they were enemies). Because the sister was so weak and emotionally unstable, the brother killed her. He also had Roman pride, and didn’t like that the sister was crying for the fall of a man from Alba and not cheering for the victory of Rome. This showed that the brothers were very patriotic for Rome, and would do anything for their beloved home. When looking at the artwork, we get a sense of it being Greek because of the figures which look like Greek sculptures, especially the...
This exhibition will examine the changing role of Classical imagery from seventeenth through nineteenth century painting, as well explain how these changes gradually produced Realism. In the seventeenth century Nicholas Poussin and Peter Paul Rubens produced works that corresponded with the Classicism of the French Academie des Beaux-Arts, though they presented these ancient subjects in very different ways. The predominance of drawing and planning in Poussin’s work was seen in contrast with the dynamic use of colour in the works of Rubens. These two means of addressing Classical themes ideologically divided the Academie between the rubenistes and the poussinistes, who quarreled for over a century about artistic approaches and techniques. The innovative and expressive works produced in the eighteenth century and beyond can be seen as a product of the rubenistes’ triumph in this conflict. Following in the example of Rubens, British artist Joshua Reynolds made use of colour and dynamic compositional techniques that combined the portraiture popular in England with the Grand Manner style that gained favour in the Academie. Reynolds became the first president of the Royal Academy in Britain and gained international acclaim for his work. The achievement of such an honour fared more difficult for artists such as Eugène Delacroix, who took a bolder approach to combining Classical imagery with reality and was frequently rejected by the Academie for doing so. This was also the case for Edourad Manet, whose scandalous work shocked viewers of the Salon des Refusés with its perceived immorality and distasteful appropriation of Classical imagery.
For this formal analysis paper I would like to talk about a painting done by the artist named Peter Paul Reubens. The piece itself is entitled, "The Apotheosis of Henry IV and the Proclamation of the Regency of Marie de Medicis on May 14, 1610." The painting was completed in the year 1610, and today it is on display at the Louvre in Paris, France. This painting was one of many that I had to choose from when I was deciding on what to write about. Many internet sites across the world had so many pieces from which to look at, but when it really came down to it, I wanted to write a paper over a topic on which I have held great interest in, that which of course is the Baroque style of painting. Peter Paul Reubens (1577-1640) exemplifies the Baroque style in painting, as did another type of artist from that period who excelled in the art of sculpting. That artist which I speak of, is of course Bernini. Both men were very prolific workers, and according to the text, were the favorites of very powerful rulers. Yet aside from his artistic prowess, I find Reubens' usage of religious themes in his paintings to be very appealing, and I think that is why I liked his work entitled, "The Apotheosis of Henry IV and the Proclamation of the Regency of Marie de Medicis on May 14, 1610," so much. In addition, I was amazed at his mastery of implying the elements and principles of art, which in essence made this work achievable. Therefore, f...
Francisco Goya’s The Third of May 1808 introduces the highly emotional style of Romanticism (French Revolution) and illustrates the themes of violent punishment, death, and the senseless brutality of war. Goya has made an image of actual historical events, but enhanced them for maximum dramatic effect. In the painting, the figures to the left of the composition demand the viewer’s attention more than the figures to the right. While the faceless French soldiers on the opposite side are rendered almost inhuman, the ill-fated Spanish “rebels” elicit both sympathy for their suffering and respect for their sacrifice.
First and foremost, this essay will describe The Death of Marat. The painting depicts Jean-Paul Marat lying dead in his bath after being murdered by Charlotte Corday. The bath is lined with white sheets making it look like a bed. The white sheet on either side of Marat is stained red with blood. Marat himself is half-in and half hanging out of the bath. His head is lying on his right shoulder. It is wrapped in a white sheet with just a bit of his brown hair peeking out. His eyes are closed and the corners of his mouth are turned up into a small smile. His right arm is draped over the tub. In his right hand is a Quill. His left hand is resting on a board that lays across his bath. The board is covered in a green blanket and is over the tub. In his left hand is a petition that was given to him be Corday. On the top of the