Corneille's 'Oath Of The Horatii'

art.

6) Stylistic Context: The structure of this painting clearly diverts from the soft billowy treatment of the classical Louis XVI style. David minimizes most of the over feminine elegance and replaces it with admirable masculinity. Oath of the Horatii was released just 4 years before the revolution of France, in 1789 when the revolution broke out. David became the neoclassical painter ideologist of the French Revolution. This painting led the way for other neoclassical painters to follow.

7) Subject: The subject of this painting, which was completed in Rome, is based on Corneille’s play, Horace, the play depicts a time of war, where 3 brother from Rome and 3 brothers from Alba are chosen to settle the war. In Oath of the Horatii, David depicts the moment when the 3 brother’s father, Horatius, raises the 3 swords in honor as they speak an oath to defend their country. (Khan Academy)

8)

Horatius, centered in the middle wears a vivid red cloak, the brothers, to the left of their father wear red white and blue. The brothers stand in almost an A frame stance, with one arm lifted to their father and their swords. Behind the passionate father are women and children, the 3 women and two young children are colored in earth tones, one of the women, although elegantly dress in an off white dress, she seems collapsed in her sitting pose, for she is not only the sister to the Horatii brothers, but is also the soon to be wife of one of the Curatius brothers from Alba that have been chosen to fight. The scene is closed off from other eyes, and the partial shadowed back ground consists of three magnificent arches of ancient times, while a checkered style floor helps add