The History of Neo-Classical and Romanticist Art - Essay Sample

Introduction

Jacque-Louis David was an artist who thrived in France during the period of the late 18th and mid-19th hundreds of years. He however created the painting of the Oath of Horatii in 1784 (Manca, 2019). The historical subject of the painting was representative of a scene that took place in about 669 BCE as a result of a dispute between the two rival cities of Alba Longa and Rome. The leaders from each city selected three individuals to do the fighting on their behalf. Therefore, the main subject theme that is evident in the painting is Horatii's brother's role in taking an oath to defend Rome. His art inspiration arose from the European historical figures and classical ideals such as during the French Revolution and the fall of Napoleon's rule. The Neoclassical expressions and characteristics include the clear use of purposeful lines, a feeling of sound rationality, and incorporation of a feeling of solid structures. Elements like lines were a clean emulation of the classical Greek age and grew as a response to the renaissance period which occurred between 1660 and 1798.

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On the other hand, the Image of Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People is a romanticism style of painting influenced by a movement that occurred between 1789 to 1832. The fundamental elements of the movement comprised an emphasis on creative minds, feelings, realism, and subjectivity. The Romantic periods drew inspirations and motivations from the Baroque period and Medieval periods and primary emphasis were nature, extraordinary components, and legends.

Style of Painting

Jacque-Louis David made use of straight lines, symbolism, and plain characterized settings which were the main characteristics of painting art during the 18th century. Values that were highly emphasized included maintaining order and balance by the positioning of the visual arts. Neoclassicism cause arose as a reaction against Rococo with a theme of reason and great incorporation of linear painting. The floor in the painting has several lines that run across where the characters are positioned. The ideas of order and balance included the positing of the body to achieve great balance without any signs of a physical strain. Ideas of order and balance were a result of influence from the classical Greek ideas. Each of the three Horatii brothers strategically positions themselves with the right foot forward and hind foot backward to achieve balance. The aspect of a solid structure is evident across the painting by the use of solid walls and hard floor surfaces. Solidity is also further emphasized by the physical form of the three Horatii youthful men. The three Horatii brothers are bound together in the solid arch by their muscled arms raised in a rigid salute towards their father. The fact that their father is framed by the arch at the center adds to the sense of balance and order that he creates. While assuming the central position, he holds three swords in his left hand and holds out his right hand to signify a promise or sacrifice. Additionally, each of their arms is also spread out towards three spears held out and one brother wraps his arm around the one at the edge in a sense to add to the balance and create a great sense of solidarity.

The aspect of balance and order has been highly magnified to state the least. The aspect of three elements is greatly emphasized across the painting. There are three brothers, stretching out their three arms towards the three swords held out by their father and there are three arches in the painting of which the father is strategically positioned in the middle arch to highlight the central role he has to signify the promise and sacrifice. The idea of the use of a pyramid style in the painting is also evident as influenced by Greek ideals. David achieves the pyramid style by positioning the three Horatii brothers’ arms at a pyramid angle as they salute towards the three swords held out by their father. Furthermore, David achieved this effect by involving the flow of the three women sitting behind the father. David highlights the women’s human emotion and rationality creating a dramatic effect of the scene and welcoming viewers to get involved in the scene with a mixture of rationality and passion. David further goes ahead to light the three women and sisters who weep for them with a stark of clinical lights that sharply contrasts with the overall dramatic scene to invoke the viewer to respond to the scene (Stevens, 2019). The human emotion for a dramatic pause was used to highlight that despite their lamentation for their husbands, the three Horatii brothers remain absolute to obey their father’s call to fight for the just cause.

On the other hand, the Eugène Delacroix romanticist style was a later style that was influenced by the Medieval age and was a reaction against the Neoclassicism age. The theme of passion was majorly emphasized which was incorporated with an unrestricted style of painting. Ideas of the revolution were also propelled by singular subjectivity propelled by articulations of enlightenment, human visual expressions, and similar movements. The Romanticism age was also inspired by the German Sturm and Drang movements that popularized the use of emotion ideals over the enlightenment rationalism. In the Liberty Leading the People painting, the feeling of realism is propelled by the use of the storm and wrecks to depict fear and stress and further highlight the human emotions in a natural real world.

The allegory of liberty is possessed by a woman who wears a yellow dress but the dress has slipped below her breasts typical of the erotic realism of a legend goddess whose skin should be smooth to match her grace and romantic profile (Carroll, 2017). In the painting, she is the central image and demonstrates the realism of a real battle and typical events caught up in the struggle and heat of the moment in a real war scenario. The infantry gun on her left-hand side with a bayonet (1816 model) further adds to the realism of a typical war revolution movement as she holds the flag of liberty portraying a symbol of youthful revolt against injustice in the Persian revolution.

Conclusion

Jacque-Louis David’s Oath of Horatii and the Image of Liberty Leading the People created by Eugène Delacroix convey a sense of revolution in slightly different ways. Jacque-Louis David adopts the approach of solidity and a sense of balance to enforce a revolution represented by a promise. The image of Oath of Horatii also depicted an illustration of the noble approach of placing civic duty beyond anything else including family ties. The promise was a declaration to defeat their enemies to the extent of even dying fighting for their country. The lines and solid strictures are also used. The aspect of the three elements is greatly emphasized across the painting to represent the aspect of solidarity and balance. There are three brothers, stretching out their three arms towards the three swords held out by their father and there are three archs in the painting of which the father is strategically positioned in the middle arch to highlight the central role he has to seal the promise and sacrifice.

On the other hand, Eugène Delacroix uses the approach of a greater emphasis on creative minds, feelings, realism, and subjectivity. More emphasis is created on nature, extraordinary components, and legends. In this regard storm and wrecks depict fear and stress to portray the realism associated with a war event during the revolution. The aspect of liberty is highlighted by a woman who wears a yellow dress but the dress has slipped below her breasts typical of the erotic realism of a legend goddess whose skin should be smooth to match her grace and romantic profile.

References

A, S. J. (2019, January 22). Jacques Louis David and the Neoclassic School. Retrieved September 19, 2020, from https://roberttracyphdart472sp2013.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/jacques-louis-david-and-the-neoclassic-school/comment-page-1/

Joseph, M. (2019). “L. David faciebat Romae”: The Brick Walls in the Oath of ... Retrieved September 19, 2020, from https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/703507

University, L., & Libertyuniversity, C. (n.d.). Liberty Journal Fall 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2020, from https://issuu.com/libertyuniversity/docs/lj_fall2019