**This is the fifth and final installment on the evolution of large-scale french painting as seen in the premiere wings of the Louvre in Paris**
Eugene Delacroix’s Death of Sardanapalus marks the complete shift from the Neo-classical Academic style to Romanticism and the full embrace of Orientalism. Delacroix was a friend and associate of Gericault and was clearly influenced by his work. Yet, as seen in Sardanapalus, he adopts the movement more fully. Initially, he was also trained in the Neo-classical style, but rejected it because of the aforementioned lack of expression and movement. As a result, he became the fierce competitor and rival to the Neo-classical champion, Ingres. Death of Sardanapalus does not use a modern story line. Rather, it stems from the pages of Byron’s tragedy about the Assyrian king and his conquered city. Delacroix takes liberties with the story and shows an apathetic Sardanapalus sitting atop his bed as he watches his men carry out his orders: kill all the concubines, servants and animals before the enemy can take them. Nonetheless, France was consumed with Orientalism at this period; so the theme of the painting is still quite contemporary despite the time in which it is set. The Near East was a favorite subject of Romanticism for the artists felt it was filled with the tragedy, mystery, exoticism and heroism their movement so loved to capture. Just as David favored Rome and the political messages within the historical paintings, Delacroix and other artists of Romanticism felt the Orient best suited their artistic tendencies. Gone is any semblance of order or balance within Sardanapalus. Delacroix creates a scene filled with drama and chaos, exemplifying Romanticism’s stylistic ideals. The chaos is necessary, however, to accurately capture the mood of the scene. Delacroix still understands the importance of line and draftsmanship, but uses it in a manner that is vastly different than Ingres or David. Brushstrokes are sketchy and expressive—loose as they swirl around creating the chaotic movement necessary for the moment. Figures and shapes are curvilinear, directing the eye into a circle throughout the composition as though the viewer were descending into a whirlpool of madness with Sardanapalus himself. He understands that figures in movement are not perfectly defined. In addition, Delacroix pays special attention to the use of color in Sardanapalus. Colors are rich and bold reds and golds. They best reflect the Orient and heighten the erotic scene as they contrast against the ivory of the concubines’ skin. No longer is color simply used to direct the eye or create a balanced painting, they are utilized to enhance the image that is presented to their viewer, to better convey what the artist is trying to depict: madness, bedlam, eroticism. Ultimately, Delacroix and Romanticism were vastly different from Neo-classicism, but it was necessary, because so were their artistic ideals.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorScholar. Student. Unadulterated lover of all art forms. Archives
September 2017
Categories
All
|