Jacques Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784, 10.8' L x13.9'H , Oil on Canvas, Paris. This is the beginning of a five-part series that will explore the evolution of large-scale French painting as seen in the premiere wing of the Musée de Louvre. We will start with the birth of Neo-Classicism to the transition of stylistic tendencies that eventually resulted in the counter movement of Romanticism. Beginning with the origins of the Academic style will also provide a solid foundation of understanding the deep-seeded underlying prejudices towards quantifying "good" art as discussed in the previous post.
Jacques Louis David's Oath of the Horatii is one of the most important paintings in the history of art. Not only did it mark the shift towards an artistic style that was better suited towards the ideals that later shaped the French Revolution and Napoleon's Empire, but Oath of the Horatii also set the precedent for what was expected of "high-art" in the salons of the 18th and 19th centuries. "High-art" is typically defined by its subject and its size: the larger the painting and the more historical the subject matter, the greater its value. By taking on this subject matter in such grand fashion, David knew he would solidify himself among the world's most elite artists. David knew how to align himself with powerful patrons and this influenced his later works and roles within the shifting French governments following the Revolution in 1789. Initially, David painted in the Rococo style to match the ornate court tastes of Louis XVI. His cousin, Francois Boucher, was a successful Rococo painter and ensured David a place within the Royal Academy. As tastes began to change, David shifted his style and entered the Prix de Rome, the ultimate painting competition that allowed the winner to travel to Rome and study the great masterpieces of the Classical era. After failing to win three times, David finally won the prize in 1774. He travelled to Rome where he also familiarized himself with the recently discovered Pompeii. It was during this time that he painted the Oath of the Horatii, the quintessential example of large-scale history painting and the Neo-classical aesthetic. When David entered the Oath of the Horatii into the Salon of 1785, it was met with resounding success; as a result, it became the single most important piece of the Neo-classical era and defined the art of the Salons as well as the academies for the next hundred or more years. David's precise draftsmanship and naturalistic rendering of the human form became the measure of an artist's talent and ability. He later emphasized this in his academy, the École des Beaux-Arts. Figures are beautifully modeled and shaded through the use of chiaroscuro and oil allows him to capture their minute details such as hair, texture or the veins coursing through their body. The Oath of the Horatii is almost photographic in its quality. Historically, Roman tastes lean towards realism. In addition, they have also favored balance and symmetry; David brings this balance to his painting. Everything in Oath of the Horatii is orderly. Three arches frame the three different groups of figures while the primary shape--the triangle--continues to emphasize this balance in groups of threes. Sharp diagonals are off-set by intersecting verticals while bright pops of red appear in each group to direct the eye and create visual stability. Aesthetically, David focuses on stability, balance and draftsmanship. While these create a highly naturalistic image, they also have the negative effect of making the painting and its figures appear static. Eventually, this will become a major argument against the academic style. Nonetheless, his Neo-classical style as exemplified in Oath of the Horatii, set the standards for future artists over the next hundred years. While David's style reflected the glories of Rome and the Neo-Classical aesthetic, so did his subject matter. Staying true to Rome and the ideals of "high-art," David chose to depict a historical subject: the war between Rome and Alba. The story describes the war between the two countries; as the casualties mount, both countries decide that rather than an all-out war, they will have one family of three represent each country. Fighting until the death, the last family standing will be declared the victor. For Alba, the family selected was the Curiatii; for Rome, it was the Horatii. Drama unfolds as inter-marriage affects both sides. The women are stricken with grief as one is betrothed to a Curiatii and one of the brothers is married to a Curiatii sister. Despite the tragedy that will unfold, the men stand upright pledging their oath to their father who holds them to their duty. Ultimately, the story is focused on the need for citizens to uphold their duty, honor and obedience to their country. In such a politically volatile time for France, David is reminding its citizens that their loyalties must lie with the state, not to family. The painting was originally commissioned by Louis the XVI as a reminder to the French people of where their allegiances should resign. In a sad twist of fate, the work became emblematic of the revolutionary ideals the king was trying to deter. The Oath of the Horatii is highly moralistic in preaching about one's patriotic duty, a theme that becomes pervasive not only in David's paintings, but other's throughout the Neo-Classical era. Therefore, it is not surprising that future leaders, revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat and Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte would employ David in order to instill these political undertones into their later commissions.
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What I have in mind is that art may be bad, good or indifferent, but, whatever adjective is used, we must call it art, and bad art is still art in the same way that a bad emotion is still an emotion. - Marcel Duchamp We have heard the phrases uttered hundreds of times. Perhaps, you have even said one of them yourself: "Even I could paint that!" "My child could do a better job than this!" While few who make these claims boast any art historical education, most feel they do know what quantifies as art, and most notably, good art. The fallacy stems from the belief that successful art, high-art, is representational, pleasing to the eye, grand and beautiful; anything less, is simply deemed bad art, or sadly, fails to qualify as art at all. As highlighted in the above quote from Marcel Duchamp, famous Dada artist and the king of creating works deemed unworthy of the 'art' title: there is indeed bad art and good art. Nonetheless, it is still art. This brings about the reasoning for why this is the first post on The Artist's Job. First, so that you will begin to recognize art as art despite your preconceptions. Second, and most importantly, that although you may not find an artwork visually pleasing, you can appreciate why it is deemed of worth. Ultimately, artwork is deemed significant if it embodies the beliefs and ideologies of the artist. The worth of art does not lie in its ability to render the world around us to near photographic quality. Yes, art is about color and form and line, but most importantly, art is an idea made tangible. It is the execution of that ideology through the means of painting, sculpting, architecture etc., that renders a work of art successful. Sometimes the idea a work of art comes to represent, however, is far more complex than the work of art itself. One such instance is Kazimir Malevich's Suprematist painting, The Black Square from 1913. "Malevich didn’t intend for the Black Square to be a representation of a real thing, but a sign of a dawn of new age" (Holtham & Moran, 2014). Upon first glance a black square does not appear revolutionary until one understands the visual history of the Eastern Orthodox Church. For centuries, Russia's churches maintained the same interior space, one filled nearly from floor to ceiling with religious icons. Malevich was making a bold statement to the Russian ways of old when declaring that a black square, not a saint or Christ figure, was the icon of the new modern Russia. Malevich painted a black square not from an inability to render the human form, but to destroy it.
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