Classical Era: Revolution and Art
The Classical Era
The Classical Era of art had many revolutionary impacts on art history. Because of this, I wanted to showcase a few revolutionary paintings. Before we take a look at some famous French Revolution art let's learn about what The Classical Era entailed. The two art styles of the time included Rococo and Neoclassicism. Rococo consisted of pastel colors, curving forms, and light subject matter. Neoclassicism focused more on displaying mortal virtue and patriotism and was often more symmetrical and simplistic. Although both styles are beautiful, the paintings displayed below are all in Neoclassicism style because they display exactly what the style encompasses. Unlike Rococo, they capture the reality of what the time period was like. All of the following paintings are also believed to have been painted in France.
Now let's look at some art...
The Death of Marat, Jacques-Louis David, 1793
This Neoclassicism painting represents the French Revolution. Jean Paul Marat was a French politician, journalist, and leader amongst many other things. According to The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica, "He became an influential voice for radical measures against the aristocrats. He criticized moderate revolutionary leaders and warned against émigré nobility, then advocated the execution of counterrevolutionaries." Because of his great influence, you can imagine the impact that Marat's assassination had on people and the chaos that it caused. Jacques-Louis David painted The Death of Marat, a 5' 4'' x 4' 2'' oil painting, only days after his passing. The painting pictures Marat in a bathtub with stab-wounds, the knife used to kill him on the floor, and the letter his murderer used to get in to see him. I find the piece to be captivating. It holds such sorrow but at the same time you can't help but stare. The light subject matter against the dark background also helps to draw the viewers eyes into the painting. The Death of Marat is one of David's most famous paintings not only because it depicts artistic skill but because of its representation of the French Revolution and the emotion it provokes.
The Storming of Bastille, Jean-Baptiste Lallemand, 1789
The Storming of Bastille is an unforgettable event from the French Revolution. Lallemand captured this event within an 80 x 104 cm oil painting. His painting depicts soldiers at battle but with very little distinctive features. The chaos in the painting feels real and raw rather than a fabricated version of history because of the loose details. I appreciate that sort of unified style because it adds more to the story of the piece. The soldiers worked with and against each-other together and I like that there isn't one soldier standing out against the rest. To me this piece expresses strength, pride, and sacrifice. Without facial expressions, the scene creates the emotions on its own from the smoke and figures gestures. Lallemand's way of capturing a scene like The Storming of Bastille stands out against other artists of the time and is part of the reason why I think it became so revolutionary.
Marie-Antoinette Being Taken To Her Execution, William Hamilton, 1794
This 152 x 197 cm oil painting pictured above captures the former queen being escorted to her demise. She has a saddened yet surrendering look on her face while the crowd is full of anger. The guards are seen holding back the disarray. The calmness on the soldiers faces depict the power that the revolution embodied. What I find interesting about this piece is that Marie-Antoinette has a white glow over her while the rest of the painting is more dim. To me, that glow is in anticipation of her death and what is about to come. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find Hamilton's true reasoning for the white glow and if my theory is correct.
Final Thoughts
Overall, The Classical Era contributed so many beautiful pieces to art history. These paintings are just a few examples of what came from the time period. Personally, I prefer the Neoclassicism style over Rococo because of its ability to share a moment from time. The realness of these pieces hold such strong emotions which I always appreciate seeing in art.
Sources
Vidalenc, Jean. “Jean-Paul Marat.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 9 July 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Paul-Marat.
Harris, Dr. Beth, and Dr. Steven Zucker. “Jacques-Louis David, the Death of Marat.” Smarthistory, https://smarthistory.org/jacques-louis-david-the-death-of-marat/.
Kurkina, Ana-Teodora. “The French Revolution in 5 Iconic Paintings.” TheCollector, 6 Sept. 2021, https://www.thecollector.com/french-revolution-in-5-iconic-paintings/.
The three paintings you chose were all Neoclassicism subjects but with different meanings behind them. I thought that was a good idea; many of us, myself included, compared Rococo art to Neoclassic pieces like apples and oranges. This is why I chose to explore your post; I also enjoy Neoclassic paintings more than Rococo. You did a fabulous job defying and giving backstories on each painting, mainly what messages the artist used to craft them. One addition would have made your blog go from good to excellent if you had given more history into why the French Revolution caused artists to use Neoclassic subjects and styles over Rococo. Rococo styles were bright and cheery, sending off very different messages than Neoclassical art's darker realistic strong messages. What started the shift? Were other historical movements before the French Revolution sparked changes in their thoughts? Thank you for sharing your Classic era blog gallery; I enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteI had really enjoyed the pieces you had chose, they all had very significantly different meanings to them and that's what made your post so interesting! The piece by William Hamilton is probably the most interesting to me just because of the white glow radiating off of Marie-Antoinette before her death. I have so many questions as to why Hamilton had painted her figure so much brighter compared to her in a situation like that. All in all I had really enjoyed looking at these pieces from the neoclassical style, thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe change in historic events coinciding with the change in artistic styles from Rococo to Neoclassical is an interesting topic. Your point of Neoclassical art capturing the true reality of the time further shows the difference between classes, merchant and common class versus the aristocratic class, and the intended audience of the art prior to and during the Revolution. "The Death of Marat" was a piece that repeatedly came up in my research of Classical French artists and political artworks. This piece held great impact during the revolutionary time, although it is incredibly unsettling to view now, as with many other revolutionary works that held a somber subject matter.
ReplyDeleteYour interpretation of the piece by William Hamilton is well thought-out. I’ve noticed in other Classical pieces that the focal point of the piece is typically the lightest area in the painting, but the white glow in this piece gives an almost religious or innocent element, which is an interesting counterpoint to the overall depiction of the historical event.