Oath of the Horatii author. Analysis of the painting. Oath of the Horatii
The story of Titus Livy and the painting by Jacques Louis David “The Oath of the Horatii”
The series of essays that we bring to the attention of readers is devoted to subjects borrowed by artists from literary sources. When talking about the subjects of European painting, we will more than once have to turn to literary monuments, just as the artists themselves did when choosing themes for their paintings and engravings. Without knowing the sources, we are unable to understand many stories.
The main problem for an artist who uses literary material to create a painting is how to convey images of temporal art, which is literature, through the means of painting - spatial art. In other words, how can a series of sequential events of a literary work be expressed in a picture that we contemplate all at one moment and at once? Old European masters sometimes demonstrate miracles of ingenuity in solving this problem. It is noteworthy that Titian used the term “poetry” to characterize his paintings, considering them the visual equivalent of poetry (this was especially true of his works based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses).
A simple list of literary monuments important for understanding European painting would take many pages. And this is only for subjects that have become widespread, that is, those that many artists have written about. To this we must add subjects that appear, perhaps, in only one artist and in a single work, but if you do not know the literary program, the picture will remain incomprehensible. It is quite obvious that there are a lot of such works. In art criticism there is a separate and very important science - iconography, which studies the plot material and opens up for us the literary programs of paintings.
D For the first essay, we chose a plot called “The Oath of the Horatii.” In essence, it may seem random, since both literature and painting know a very large number of such subjects. We settled on it because one of Jacques Louis David’s sketches for this painting is presented in the State Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin in Moscow at the exhibition “Faces of History”, dedicated to the festival “December Evenings 2009”.
It is difficult to say with certainty what comes to mind first when we mention the Horatii family - the painting by Jacques Louis David “The Oath of the Horatii” or the dramatic story of the ancient Roman historian Titus Livy about the establishment of the rule of Rome. Probably, after all, the painting of David is better known. But it is impossible to understand it in its entirety of psychological allusions without knowing Livy’s story. So we'll start with a story.
Jacques Louis David. Oath of the Horatii. 1784. Louvre, Paris
Titus Livius (c. 59 BC - 17 AD) - Ancient Roman historian, born in Padua. His History of Rome from the Founding of the City consisted of 142 books, of which only 35 have survived. He described all types of moral government - good and bad; its characteristics gave artists numerous subjects for painting.
The story of the battle of the Horatii with the Curiatii, on the basis of which the painting by Jacques Louis David was created, is contained in the first book of the History of Rome. This story was reworked by Charles Rollin in his 16-volume Roman History (1761–1767).
Almost simultaneously with the French edition, this work was published in the 60s. XVIII century published in Russian, translated by V.K. Trediakovsky.
J.L. David relied on Rollin's account as a literary text for his painting. In characterizing the picture and its plot, we will start from the original source - the story of Titus Livy.
In accordance with the program drawn up in 1776 by the Count of Anjivillier, director of the Office of Royal Buildings, it was planned to create a series of large historical canvases “designed to revive virtues and patriotic feelings.” For this series, Jacques Louis David was supposed to paint a picture based on the plot of the battle between the Horatii and the Curiatii.
Here is the beginning of this story from Titus Livy:
There were then three twin brothers in each army, equal in age and strength. These were, as everyone knows, the Horatii and the Curiatii, and there is hardly a tradition of antiquity more widely known; but even in such a clear matter there was not without confusion about which people the Horatii belonged to, which Curiatia. Writers disagree, but most, as far as I can tell, call the Romans Horatii, and I would like to join them. The kings turn to the twins, inviting them to draw their swords - each for his own fatherland: whichever side will get power, which will lead to victory. There are no objections, they agree on a time and place. Before the battle began, a treaty was concluded between the Romans and the Albanians on the following terms: whose citizens would win the battle, that people would rule peacefully over the other.
It should be noted that in the extensive history of this drama, Titus Livy makes no mention of the oath that the Horatii take, that is, of the moment that David depicted. It can be assumed that a similar oath was taken by the Curiatia; we, however, do not know of paintings depicting events from the perspective of the Curiatii. And initially the artist intended to paint a picture illustrating another moment in history - the speech of Horace the father in defense of his son (more on this below).
The enmity between the Romans and Albanians threatened to lead to war. Then they agreed to a tournament between three representatives of each side - from the Roman family of Horatii and the opposing family of Curatii.
When the contract was concluded, - Titus Livius continues the story, - The twins, as agreed, take up arms. Both sides are encouraging their own: the fatherly gods, the fatherland and parents, all fellow citizens - both at home and in the army - are now looking at their weapons, at their hands. The fighters, both naturally warlike and encouraged by shouts, move to the middle between the two armies. Both troops sat down in front of their camps, free from direct danger, but not from anxiety - the dispute was about primacy and the decision depended on the valor and luck of so few. In tense anticipation, all feelings turn to the spectacle, which is not at all pleasing to the eye.
They give a sign, and six young men with weapons at the ready, three at a time, like two formations, converge, having absorbed all the ardor of two large armies. Both of them think not about the danger that threatens themselves, but about the domination or slavery that awaits the entire people, about the future fate of their fatherland, which is now in their own hands. As soon as the shields clashed in the first clash, the shining swords flashed, a deep trembling seizes everyone, and, while nothing encourages either side, the voice and breath freeze in the throat.
Giuseppe Cesare. Battle of the Horatii and the Curiati.
Fragment. Capitoline Museum, Rome
As a result of the duel, only one of the Horaces survived, as we see in the painting by Giuseppe Cesare, although, according to the story of Titus Livy, everything did not look quite like that: the victorious Horace dealt with his enemies, using special battle tactics. So Rome was declared the winner.
The circumstances of this battle are very interesting. They have more than once served as material for analyzing the tactics of military combat. Titus Livy writes:
When the fighters came chest to chest and one could already see not only the movement of bodies and the flashing of blades and shields, but also wounds and blood, three Albanians were wounded, and two Romans fell. Their death brought out a cry of joy from the Albanian army, and all hope had already abandoned the Roman legions... they lamented the fate of the latter, who was surrounded by three Curiatii. By chance, he was unharmed, and if he is powerless against everyone together, he is formidable to everyone individually. To separate the opponents, he takes flight, calculating that his pursuers will run as fast as their wounds will allow. He had already run some distance away from the battlefield when, looking back, he saw that those catching up were separated by considerable intervals and one was very close. He turns against this in a furious onslaught, and while the Albanian army shouts to the Curiatians to hurry up to help their brother, the winner Horace, having killed the enemy, is already rushing into a new battle. Now the Romans support their fighter with a cry, which is always raised by sympathetic spectators when the fight takes an unexpected turn, and Horace hurries to finish the battle.
So, before the last one, who was not far away, could arrive, he finishes off another Curiatius: and now the military happiness was equal - the opponents were left one on one, but they had neither hopes nor strength. The Roman, safe and sound, having won a double victory, was formidable, going into the third battle; the Albanian, exhausted from the wound, exhausted from running, broken by the sight of the death of his brothers, obediently falls under attack. And that was not a fight. The Roman exclaims, rejoicing: “I have sacrificed two to the shadows of my brothers, the third I will give to the altar of the cause for which this war is being fought, so that the Roman may rule over the Albanian.” With a blow from above, he plunges the sword into the throat of the enemy, who can barely hold the shield; removes the armor from the fallen.”
The drama of this battle is aggravated by the fact that these two families - the Horatii and the Curiatii - not only represented warring tribes, but, according to ancient tradition, the Horatii brothers were cousins of the Curatii. It was believed that their mothers were sisters from Alba Longa (a city founded three hundred years before Rome). The great French playwright of the 17th century. Pierre Corneille, who wrote the play “Horace” in 1639, makes one of the plots of the drama precisely the blood ties connecting these two families, who find themselves in enemy camps. According to Corneille, Sabina is the wife of Horace (the winner) and the sister of the Curatii, while Camilla is the lover of one of the Curiatii brothers and the sister of the Horatii. Corneille expressively described the moral suffering experienced by heroes connected by blood ties because of clan enmity.
Sabina's monologue (act I, scene 1):
Sabina
Horace is a Roman. Alas, custom is right.
I became a Roman, becoming his wife.
But to me marriage would be cruel slavery,
When in Rome I would forget about my homeland.
O Alba, where the light first flashed before our eyes!
How tenderly I loved her from childhood!
Now we are at war, and our troubles are grave;
But for me, defeat is not harder than victory.
Let the enemy's sword rise against you, O Rome,
Which could ignite hatred in me!
But the army of Alban will fight with your army,
In one of them my husband, in the other - my brothers,
Do I dare to bother the immortal gods?
Is it criminal for them to beg you to give you victory?
I know: your power is still young,
And her warlike glory will strengthen her,
And the high rock told her to step over
Latin fiefdom bequeathed limit.
The victory of either side in this fight is a tragedy for Sabina, just like it is for Camilla. J.L. David managed to convey the desperate situation of these women.
The Romans greeted Horace with jubilation and congratulations, and the greater was their joy, the closer they were to despair. Both sides began burying their dead, but with far from the same feelings - after all, some prevailed, while others lost. The tombs can still be seen in the very places where each fell: two Roman ones together, closer to Alba, three Alban ones at a distance, closer to Rome, and separately - exactly as the fighters fought.
The tomb and story of Titus Livy have inspired many artists.
Richard Wilson. Landscape with the tomb of the Horatii and Curiatii at Tivoli.
1754. National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
Unknown artist of the 18th century. Mausoleum of the Horatii
Horace the winner, seeing that his sister Camilla, betrothed to one of the Curiatii, was grieving for her lover, the enemy of their family, became indignant. (Note that the outburst of anger of the victorious Horace is difficult to explain, since he also had a wife from an enemy family.)
And here is a new tragedy.
Horace walked first, carrying triple armor; in front of the Capena Gate he was met by his sister, who was betrothed to one of the Curiatii; Recognizing the groom's cloak on her brother's shoulders, woven by herself, she lets down her hair and, crying, calls the groom by name. The young man’s fierce soul was outraged by his sister’s cries, which darkened his victory and the great joy of the entire people. Drawing a sword, he stabbed the girl, exclaiming: “Go to the groom with your untimely love! You forgot about your brothers - the dead and the living - you forgot about your fatherland. So let every Roman woman perish who mourns the enemy!”
Fyodor (Fidelio) Bruni began working on his first major painting, “The Death of Camilla, Horace’s Sister,” before he reached the age of 22. The painting was exhibited in 1824 in Rome, in the Capitol, and brought the author considerable fame. She appeared in St. Petersburg only ten years later. For her, Bruni received the title of academician.
F. Bruni. Death of Camilla, Horace's sister. 1824.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Horace the winner, accused of murder - without trial or investigation - of a free Roman woman, such as Camilla's status, was sentenced to death. This was the Roman law. But the execution of the sentence was suspended following an appeal by his father.
J.L. David. Speech by Horace the Father
The speech of Father Horatii, as reported by Titus Livius, is very expressive:
At the trial, Publius Horace the father especially deeply touched those gathered, declaring that he considered his daughter rightfully killed: if it had happened differently, he himself would have punished his son with his father’s authority. Then he asked everyone not to leave him, who had so recently had an abundance of offspring, completely childless. Embracing the young man and pointing to the armor of the Curiatians, nailed to the place that is now called the “Horacian Spears,” the old man said: “Can it really be, Quirites, the same one who was just seen entering the city in honorable attire, triumphant in victory, you will be able to see with a block?” on the neck, tied, between whips and a crucifix? Even the eyes of the Albanians could hardly bear such an ugly sight! Go, lictor, tie the hands that only recently, armed, brought the Roman people dominion. Wrap the head of the liberator of our city; hang him from the ominous tree; cut him, even inside the city limits - but certainly between these spears and enemy armor, even outside the city limits - but certainly between the graves of the Curiatians. Wherever you take this young man, everywhere honorable distinctions will protect him from the shame of execution!”
The people could not bear either the tears of their father, or the calmness of the spirit of Horace himself, equal to any danger - he was acquitted more out of admiration for valor than in justice.
It should be admitted that David’s drawing vividly conveys the whole range of feelings of Horace the father.
This plot was popular not only in painting. It is known as the theme of works of different arts and genres.
The bronze clock clearly demonstrates the popularity and influence of Jacques Louis David's painting: it is decorated with characters from his Oath of the Horatii. However, it should be noted that the decorative plot here also includes the scene of the battle and the victory of one of the Horatii. This can be seen in the bas-relief on the base (pedestal) of the clock.
Watch “Oath of the Horatii”. OK. 1805 Bronze. Paris
Livy's story became the basis for two dramatic works: in addition to P. Corneille, already in the 20th century this plot was used by Bertolt Brecht in the play “Horaces and Curiaces”. The play was written in 1934, it completed the cycle of “educational”, or “instructive”, as Brecht himself designated them, plays. Professor Hans Mayer, a researcher of the writer’s work, defines the idea of this play as follows: “The ability to think is more important than material superiority. Temporary victories should not lead to premature rejoicing, it’s all about the final victory. And defeats can be turned into victories.”
At least three operas were written based on this plot. Their authors were (by the way, all Italians):
Domenico Cimarosa. Opera “Horaces and Curiaties”. Written to a libretto by Antonio Sografi based on the tragedy of Pierre Corneille. The first performance took place at the Venetian Teatro La Fenice on December 26, 1796. The opera was a failure at the premiere, and the disappointed Cimarosa immediately left the city. But the very next performance was a huge success. In total, the opera was performed 48 times during the season. Soon it was staged in Paris and then went around all the major European stages.
Antonio Salieri. The opera “Horaces” (1786) was written for Paris, where J.L. David’s painting had been delighting for two years. The name Salieri was also well known here, although his work was greeted coolly, which did not deprive the composer of the public’s trust.
Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante. Opera “Horaces and Curations” (1846). Written in the genre of lyrical tragedy with a libretto by Salvador Sammorano, based on a story by Titus Livy. The premiere took place on the stage of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.
There is no doubt that the artists, choosing moments of this story for the picture, took it for granted that the audience knew the story of Titus Livius, and in their imagination one scene was either an oath of brothers, or a moment of battle, or the murder of a sister by a brother, or a passionate speech Horace the Father - will resurrect the heartbreaking story in its entirety. This knowledge enriches our perception of a particular picture, and its semantic “overtones” should resound in our consciousness.
ART
FIRST HALF
XI10th CENTURY
PAINTING OF FRANCE
In the first half of the 19th century. The French school of painting strengthened its primacy in the art of Western Europe. Two pioneers of a new pictorial culture - the Englishman John Constable and the Spaniard Francisco Goya - who did not receive recognition in their homeland, found students and followers in France. Theodore Gericault and Eugene Delacroix creatively adopted their free manner and color, preparing the birth of impressionism and thereby all modern painting.
France was ahead of other European countries in the democratization of artistic life. Since 1791, any authors received the right to participate in exhibitions at the Louvre Salon, regardless of their membership in academies. Since 1793, the halls of the Louvre Museum were opened to the general public. Gradually, state academic education was replaced by training in private workshops. The authorities resorted to more flexible methods of artistic policy: the distribution of large orders for the decoration of public buildings acquired particular scope during the reign of Napoleon I and Louis Philippe (1830-1848).
JACQUES LOUIS DAVID (1748-1825)
By the beginning of the 19th century. the generally recognized leader among French artists was Jacques Louis David - the most consistent representative of neoclassicism in painting and a sensitive chronicler of his turbulent times.
David was born in Paris into a wealthy bourgeois family. In 1766 he entered the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. A characteristic feature of French culture in those years was a general fascination with antiquity. The painter Joseph Marie Vien (1716-1809), David's teacher, created compositions on ancient themes that retained the playful charm of Rococo. Young people found other ideals in the Ancient World: not exquisite beauty, but examples of stern civic valor, selfless service to a common cause.
David’s student years passed in such an atmosphere. He was burdened by the conservative way of the academy and dreamed of visiting Italy. Finally, his dream came true: the artist spent 1775-1779 in Italy.
In 1781, David was accepted as a member of the Royal Academy and received the right to participate in its exhibitions - the Louvre Salons.
To work on the painting “The Oath of the Horatii” (1784), David went to Rome. When the canvas was finished and the artist exhibited it to the public, a real pilgrimage of Romans and foreigners to his workshop began. The action of the picture takes place in the courtyard of an ancient Roman house: a stream of light pours from above onto the heroes of the picture, with olive-gray twilight around them. In the background is a three-span arcade; One or more figures are inscribed in each of the arches. In the middle stands the father of the family, to his left are his sons ready for battle, to his right are women and children, numb with grief and fear. The smooth outlines of the female group are contrasted with the chased lines of the warrior figures. The whole composition is based on the number three: three arches, three groups of characters, three swords, three hands readily extended to weapons. These threefold repetitions fill the entire scene with a mood of cheerful composure: any movement immediately acquires triple strength.
From now on, everyone knew him as a painter “whose genius anticipated the revolution.” In September 1792, David was elected as a deputy to the Convention, the highest legislative and executive body of the First Republic, and after the coup of May 31 - June 2, 1793, when the Jacobins came to power, he actually became the conductor of government policy in the field of art. David also supervised the organization of national festivals; Its tasks also included the glorification of the dead revolutionaries, officially declared “martyrs of freedom.”
After a new coup in July 1794, David, as a prominent Jacobin, was arrested and brought before the investigation. However, he managed to prove his non-involvement in the mass executions of 1793-1794. and was released in August 1795.
In 1795-1799 David and his students worked on the painting “The Sabine Women Stopping the Battle between the Romans and the Sabines.” According to him, he wanted to “depict ancient customs with such accuracy that the Greeks and Romans, if they had a chance to see my work, would not consider me alien to their customs.” Nevertheless, the artist again chose a plot consonant with modern times: the tale of women who stopped the war between the Romans (their husbands) and the Sabines (their fathers and brothers) sounded in France at that time as a call for civil peace. However, the huge picture, overloaded with figures, caused only ridicule from the audience.
In 1799, as a result of another coup d'etat, Napoleon Bonaparte came to power. David, like many former revolutionaries, joyfully welcomed this event. In the painting “Bonaparte's Crossing of the Saint Bernard Pass” (1800), the artist depicted his new hero returning from a victorious campaign in Italy. The motionless, like a monument, figure of the commander on a rearing horse rises against the backdrop of lifeless lines of mountain ranges: it seems that the whole world has frozen, obedient to the imperious gesture of the winner. The stones under the horse’s feet are a kind of pedestal: the names of the three great conquerors who passed this road are engraved on them - Hannibal, Charlemagne and Napoleon himself. Napoleon, who was proclaimed emperor in 1804, appointed David “the first painter.” He unmistakably chose the most talented master of his time and one of the best propaganda artists in history.
After the defeat of Napoleon, David, who at one time voted in the Convention for the death sentence of Louis XVI, was forced to leave France. The artist went to Brussels (which then belonged to the Kingdom of the Netherlands), where he lived until his death. He continued to work: diligently, but without inspiration, he painted portraits of exiles like himself and works on ancient subjects.
Jacques Louis David. Oath of the Horatii. 1784 Louvre, Paris.
*In 1667, the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture established annual official art exhibitions. Initially they took place in the Square Salon of Dover, so they became known as Salons. This name remained until the end of the 19th century.
"The DEATH OF MARAT" BY JACQUES LOUIS DAVID
On July 13, 1793, a month and a half after the Jacobin coup, one of its inspirers and leaders, Jean Paul Marat (1743-1793), was stabbed to death in his apartment by a noblewoman named Charlotte Corday. The painting “The Death of Marat” (1793) was completed by the artist in less than three months and hung in the meeting room of the Convention. David, who visited Marat on the eve of his death and was then appointed funeral director, knew well the circumstances of the murder. At the time of his death, Marat was sitting in the bath: due to a skin disease, he was forced to work and receive visitors. The patched sheets and the simple wooden box that replaced the table are not the artist’s invention. However, Marat himself, whose body was disfigured by illness, under the brush of David turned into a noble athlete, similar to an ancient hero. The simplicity of the setting gives the spectacle a special tragic solemnity. The bath resembles a sarcophagus; a box on which, like on a pedestal, a dedication is inscribed: “To Marat - David” - an expressive line separating the deceased and the audience; the empty twilight space of the background is an image of eternity, where the fallen hero resides.
The first plan of the picture is flooded with light coming from above; Marat’s body and the objects around, painted with dense strokes of dim but extremely saturated colors, are almost tangible. The neutral background is executed in a lighter and more unsteady manner; sparkles of brush strokes glow dimly in its dark depths. All details carry a certain meaning: the knife on the floor is the instrument of Marat’s martyrdom; Korda's bloody letter clutched in her hand is her feigned request for help; the banknote lying next to the inkwell is apparently the last money that Marat was going to give to the petitioner. This “documentary” reproduction of his mercy, which the killer insidiously took advantage of, does not correspond to historical facts: in fact, Corday penetrated him under the pretext of denunciation. The painting “The Death of Marat” is a political myth created by David, but a beautiful and sublime myth, in which reality is intertwined with fiction.
Jacques Louis David. Death of Marat. 1793 Museum of Modern Art, Brussels.
Jacques Louis David.
Sabine women, stopping the battle between the Romans and Sabines.
1795-1799 Louvre, Paris.
*Sabines (Sabines) - ancient tribes that inhabited Central Italy; played an important role in the formation of the Roman people.
**Hannibal (247 or 246-183 BC) - Carthaginian commander in one of the wars of Carthage (an ancient city-state in North Africa, on the territory of modern Tunisia) with Ancient Rome.
***Charlemagne (742-814) - king of the German Frankish tribe from 768, emperor from 800; created the first major medieval power in Western Europe.
Jacques Louis David.
Bonaparte's crossing of the Saint Bernard Pass. 1800
National Museum, Versailles.
Jacques Louis David.
Portrait of Napoleon. 1812
National Gallery, Washington.
In 1812, David wrote to the emperor for the last time. The portrait of Napoleon in his study is remarkable for its unexpected interpretation of the image. The Emperor appears here as a zealous and caring master of Europe: he worked all night - the candle over his papers is burning out, and the clock is already reminding of the next item on the schedule - it’s time to go to the military review. Before fastening his sword, Napoleon gives the viewer a significant look - life is not easy for your emperor...
JEAN AUGUSTE DOMINIC INGRE
(1780-1867)
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres was a supporter of classical ideals - and at the same time a deeply original artist, alien to any falsehood, boredom and routine.
Ingres was born in the town of Montauban in the south of France. His father was a decorative sculptor and painter. In 1796, Ingres moved to Paris and entered the workshop of Jacques Louis David, but around 1800 he forever quarreled with his teacher. In 1802, Ingres was awarded the Rome Prize and received the right to travel to Italy at the expense of the French government, but the trip was postponed indefinitely due to a meager budget. The artist remained in Paris, making a living from portraits. Ingres always took on them reluctantly, considering portraiture a task too small for himself, although it was in this genre that he achieved his greatest mastery.
In 1806, Ingres was finally able to travel to Italy. When the four-year internship expired, he remained abroad at his own peril and risk. The young painter plunged headlong into studying the artistic heritage of antiquity and the Renaissance. Ingres tried to convey in painting the decorative possibilities of various types of old art: the expressiveness of the silhouettes of ancient Greek vase painting - in the canvases “Oedipus and the Sphinx” (1808) and “Jupiter and Thetis” (1811); the plasticity of sculptural relief - in the works “The Dream of Ossian” (1813), “Virgil reading the Aeneid to the family of Emperor Augustus” (1819); the rich colors of Gothic miniatures - in the painting “Paolo and Francesca” (1819) .
In 1824 Ingres returned to France. In the monumental canvas commissioned by the French Minister of the Interior - “The Vow of Louis XIII, asking for the protection of Our Lady for the Kingdom of France” (1824), he imitated the pictorial style of the idol of the then public, the Italian Renaissance master Raphael. The painting, exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1824 along with Eugene Delacroix’s “The Massacre of Chios,” brought Ingres his first major success. From now on, French painters - opponents of romanticism - saw him as their leader.
At the same time, Ingres was commissioned to paint a painting for the cathedral of the French city of Autun. The artist was supposed to depict the patron saint of the city, Saint Symphorion. This noble inhabitant of the Roman colony, which laid the foundation for Autun, at the end of the 2nd century. executed because he professed Christianity. Ingres worked on the painting “The Torment of Saint Symphorion” (1834) for ten years, making more than a hundred sketches. Perhaps Ingres set himself too difficult a task: he wanted to depict a large mass of people, and in motion. The crowd leading the saint to execution outside the city gates appears to be a chaotic jumble of figures. However, the mother stands out against this background
Saint Symphorion, who accompanies the martyr to his feat, standing on the fortress wall. By exhibiting the painting at the Salon, Ingres expected success, but the public was indifferent to his work.
Disappointed, Ingres hastened to leave Paris; in 1834 he was appointed director of the French Academy in Rome and for six years headed this center for the foreign training of young French artists.
In the painting “Odalisque and the Slave” (1839), Ingres clearly competed with Delacroix: he chose a composition close to “Algerian Women in Their Chambers” and solved it in his own way. The motley, multicolored coloring of the canvas arose as a result of the artist’s passion for oriental miniatures.
In 1841 the painter returned to Paris. Now he avoided participating in exhibitions, but worked a lot for private individuals. The son of King Louis Philippe, Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orleans, constantly approached him with orders. The Duke was a colorless personality - this was the opinion of most of his contemporaries, but not Ingres, who painted his portrait in 1842. It cannot be said that the artist embellished the Duke’s appearance; he simply cleverly selected the lighting, background, pose, and costume so that the noble posture and charm of the customer would not go unnoticed.
Jacques Louis David's painting "The Oath of the Horatii" is a turning point in the history of European painting. Stylistically, it still belongs to classicism; This is a style oriented toward Antiquity, and at first glance, David retains this orientation. "The Oath of the Horatii" is based on the story of how the Roman patriots three brothers Horace were chosen to fight the representatives of the hostile city of Alba Longa, the Curiatii brothers. Titus Livy and Diodorus Siculus have this story; Pierre Corneille wrote a tragedy based on its plot.
“But it is the Horatian oath that is missing from these classical texts.<...>It is David who turns the oath into the central episode of the tragedy. The old man holds three swords. He stands in the center, he represents the axis of the picture. To his left are three sons merging into one figure, to his right are three women. This picture is stunningly simple. Before David, classicism, with all its focus on Raphael and Greece, could not find such a stern, simple masculine language to express civic values. David seemed to hear what Diderot said, who did not have time to see this canvas: “You need to paint as they said in Sparta.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
In the time of David, Antiquity first became tangible through the archaeological discovery of Pompeii. Before him, Antiquity was the sum of the texts of ancient authors - Homer, Virgil and others - and several dozen or hundreds of imperfectly preserved sculptures. Now it has become tangible, right down to the furniture and beads.
“But there is none of this in David’s painting. In it, Antiquity is amazingly reduced not so much to the surroundings (helmets, irregular swords, togas, columns), but to the spirit of primitive, furious simplicity.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
David carefully orchestrated the appearance of his masterpiece. He painted and exhibited it in Rome, receiving enthusiastic criticism there, and then sent a letter to his French patron. In it, the artist reported that at some point he stopped painting a picture for the king and began to paint it for himself, and, in particular, decided to make it not square, as required for the Paris Salon, but rectangular. As the artist had hoped, the rumors and letter fueled the public excitement, and the painting was booked a prime spot at the already opened Salon.
“And so, belatedly, the picture is put back in place and stands out as the only one. If it had been square, it would have been hung in line with the others. And by changing the size, David turned it into a unique one. It was a very powerful artistic gesture. On the one hand, he declared himself to be the main one in creating the canvas. On the other hand, he attracted everyone’s attention to this picture.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
The painting has another important meaning, which makes it a masterpiece for all time:
“This painting does not address the individual—it addresses the person standing in line. This is a team. And this is a command to a person who first acts and then thinks. David very correctly showed two non-overlapping, absolutely tragically separated worlds - the world of active men and the world of suffering women. And this juxtaposition - very energetic and beautiful - shows the horror that actually lies behind the story of the Horatii and behind this picture. And since this horror is universal, “The Oath of the Horatii” will not leave us anywhere.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
Abstract
In 1816, the French frigate Medusa was wrecked off the coast of Senegal. 140 passengers left the brig on a raft, but only 15 were saved; to survive the 12-day wandering on the waves, they had to resort to cannibalism. A scandal broke out in French society; The incompetent captain, a royalist by conviction, was found guilty of the disaster.
“For liberal French society, the disaster of the frigate “Medusa”, the death of the ship, which for a Christian person symbolizes the community (first the church, and now the nation), became a symbol, a very bad sign of the emerging new regime of the Restoration.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
In 1818, the young artist Theodore Gericault, looking for a worthy subject, read the book of survivors and began working on his painting. In 1819, the painting was exhibited at the Paris Salon and became a hit, a symbol of romanticism in painting. Géricault quickly abandoned his intention to depict the most seductive thing - a scene of cannibalism; he did not show the stabbing, despair or the moment of salvation itself.
“Gradually he chose the only right moment. This is the moment of maximum hope and maximum uncertainty. This is the moment when the people who survived on the raft first see the brig Argus on the horizon, which first passed by the raft (he did not notice it).
And only then, walking on a counter course, I came across him. In the sketch, where the idea has already been found, “Argus” is noticeable, but in the picture it turns into a small dot on the horizon, disappearing, which attracts the eye, but does not seem to exist.”Ilya Doronchenkov
Géricault refuses naturalism: instead of emaciated bodies, he has beautiful, courageous athletes in his paintings. But this is not idealization, this is universalization: the film is not about specific passengers of the Medusa, it is about everyone.
“Gericault scatters the dead in the foreground. It was not he who came up with this: French youth raved about the dead and wounded bodies. It excited, hit the nerves, destroyed conventions: a classicist cannot show the ugly and terrible, but we will. But these corpses have another meaning. Look what is happening in the middle of the picture: there is a storm, there is a funnel into which the eye is drawn. And along the bodies, the viewer, standing right in front of the picture, steps onto this raft. We're all there."
Ilya Doronchenkov
Gericault's painting works in a new way: it is addressed not to an army of spectators, but to every person, everyone is invited to the raft. And the ocean is not just the ocean of lost hopes of 1816. This is human destiny.
Abstract
By 1814, France was tired of Napoleon, and the arrival of the Bourbons was greeted with relief. However, many political freedoms were abolished, the Restoration began, and by the end of the 1820s the younger generation began to realize the ontological mediocrity of power.
“Eugene Delacroix belonged to that layer of the French elite that rose under Napoleon and was pushed aside by the Bourbons. But nevertheless, he was treated kindly: he received a gold medal for his first painting at the Salon, “Dante’s Boat,” in 1822. And in 1824 he made the painting “The Massacre of Chios,” depicting ethnic cleansing when the Greek population of the island of Chios was deported and exterminated during the Greek War of Independence. This is the first sign of political liberalism in painting, which concerned still very distant countries.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
In July 1830, Charles X issued several laws seriously restricting political freedoms and sent troops to destroy the printing house of an opposition newspaper. But the Parisians responded with fire, the city was covered with barricades, and during the “Three Glorious Days” the Bourbon regime fell.
In the famous painting by Delacroix, dedicated to the revolutionary events of 1830, different social strata are represented: a dandy in a top hat, a tramp boy, a worker in a shirt. But the main one, of course, is a young beautiful woman with a bare chest and shoulder.
“Delacroix achieves here something that almost never happens with 19th-century artists, who were increasingly thinking realistically. He manages in one picture - very pathetic, very romantic, very sonorous - to combine reality, physically tangible and brutal (look at the corpses beloved by romantics in the foreground) and symbols. Because this full-blooded woman is, of course, Freedom itself. Political developments since the 18th century have confronted artists with the need to visualize what cannot be seen. How can you see freedom? Christian values are conveyed to a person through a very human way - through the life of Christ and his suffering. But such political abstractions as freedom, equality, fraternity have no appearance. And Delacroix is perhaps the first and not the only one who, in general, successfully coped with this task: we now know what freedom looks like.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
One of the political symbols in the painting is the Phrygian cap on the girl's head, a permanent heraldic symbol of democracy. Another telling motif is nudity.
“Nudity has long been associated with naturalness and with nature, and in the 18th century this association was forced. The history of the French Revolution even knows a unique performance, when a naked French theater actress portrayed nature in Notre-Dame Cathedral. And nature is freedom, it is naturalness. And that’s what this tangible, sensual, attractive woman turns out to mean. It denotes natural freedom."
Ilya Doronchenkov
Although this painting made Delacroix famous, it was soon removed from view for a long time, and it is clear why. The viewer standing in front of her finds himself in the position of those who are attacked by Freedom, who are attacked by the revolution. The uncontrollable movement that will crush you is very uncomfortable to watch.
Abstract
On May 2, 1808, an anti-Napoleonic rebellion broke out in Madrid, the city was in the hands of protesters, but by the evening of the 3rd, mass executions of rebels were taking place in the vicinity of the Spanish capital. These events soon led to a guerrilla war that lasted six years. When it ends, the painter Francisco Goya will be commissioned two paintings to immortalize the uprising. The first is “The Uprising of May 2, 1808 in Madrid.”
“Goya really depicts the moment the attack began - that first blow by the Navajo that started the war. It is this compression of the moment that is extremely important here. It’s as if he’s bringing the camera closer; from a panorama he moves to an extremely close-up shot, which also hasn’t happened to this extent before. There is another exciting thing: the sense of chaos and stabbing is extremely important here. There is no person here whom you feel sorry for. There are victims and there are killers. And these murderers with bloodshot eyes, Spanish patriots, in general, are engaged in the butcher’s business.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
In the second picture, the characters change places: those who are cut in the first picture, in the second they shoot those who cut them. And the moral ambivalence of the street battle gives way to moral clarity: Goya is on the side of those who rebelled and are dying.
“The enemies are now separated. On the right are those who will live. This is a series of people in uniform with guns, absolutely identical, even more identical than David’s Horace brothers. Their faces are invisible, and their shakos make them look like machines, like robots. These are not human figures. They stand out in black silhouette in the darkness of the night against the backdrop of a lantern flooding a small clearing.
On the left are those who will die. They move, swirl, gesticulate, and for some reason it seems that they are taller than their executioners. Although the main, central character - a Madrid man in orange pants and a white shirt - is on his knees. He’s still higher, he’s a little bit on the hill.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
The dying rebel stands in the pose of Christ, and for greater persuasiveness, Goya depicts stigmata on his palms. In addition, the artist makes him constantly relive the difficult experience of looking at the last moment before execution. Finally, Goya changes the understanding of a historical event. Before him, an event was depicted with its ritual, rhetorical side; for Goya, an event is a moment, a passion, a non-literary cry.
In the first picture of the diptych it is clear that the Spaniards are not slaughtering the French: the riders falling under the horses’ feet are dressed in Muslim costumes.
The fact is that Napoleon’s troops included a detachment of Mamelukes, Egyptian cavalrymen.
“It would seem strange that the artist turns Muslim fighters into a symbol of the French occupation. But this allows Goya to turn a modern event into a link in the history of Spain. For any nation that forged its identity during the Napoleonic Wars, it was extremely important to realize that this war is part of an eternal war for its values. And such a mythological war for the Spanish people was the Reconquista, the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslim kingdoms. Thus, Goya, while remaining faithful to documentary and modernity, puts this event in connection with the national myth, forcing us to understand the struggle of 1808 as the eternal struggle of the Spaniards for the national and Christian.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
The artist managed to create an iconographic formula for execution. Every time his colleagues - be it Manet, Dix or Picasso - addressed the topic of execution, they followed Goya.
Abstract
The pictorial revolution of the 19th century took place in the landscape even more palpably than in the event picture.
“The landscape completely changes the optics. A person changes his scale, a person experiences himself differently in the world. Landscape is a realistic representation of what is around us, with a sense of the moisture-laden air and everyday details in which we are immersed. Or it can be a projection of our experiences, and then in the shimmer of a sunset or on a joyful sunny day we see the state of our soul. But there are striking landscapes that belong to both modes. And it’s very difficult to know, in fact, which one is dominant.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
This duality is clearly demonstrated by the German artist Caspar David Friedrich: his landscapes both tell us about the nature of the Baltic and at the same time represent a philosophical statement. There is a languid sense of melancholy in Frederick's landscapes; the person in them rarely penetrates further than the background and usually has his back turned to the viewer.
His latest painting, Ages of Life, shows a family in the foreground: children, parents, an old man. And further, behind the spatial gap - the sunset sky, the sea and sailboats.
“If we look at how this canvas is constructed, we will see a striking echo between the rhythm of the human figures in the foreground and the rhythm of the sailboats at sea. Here are tall figures, here are low figures, here are large sailboats, here are boats under sail. Nature and sailboats are what is called the music of the spheres, it is eternal and independent of man. The man in the foreground is his ultimate being. Friedrich’s sea is very often a metaphor for otherness, death. But death for him, a believer, is the promise of eternal life, which we do not know about. These people in the foreground - small, clumsy, not very attractively written - with their rhythm repeat the rhythm of a sailboat, like a pianist repeats the music of the spheres. This is our human music, but it all rhymes with the very music that for Friedrich fills nature. Therefore, it seems to me that in this painting Friedrich promises not an afterlife paradise, but that our finite existence is still in harmony with the universe.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
Abstract
After the French Revolution, people realized that they had a past. The 19th century, through the efforts of romantic aesthetes and positivist historians, created the modern idea of history.
“The 19th century created historical painting as we know it. Not abstract Greek and Roman heroes, acting in an ideal setting, guided by ideal motives. The history of the 19th century becomes theatrically melodramatic, it comes closer to man, and we are now able to empathize not with great deeds, but with misfortunes and tragedies. Each European nation created its own history in the 19th century, and in constructing history, it, in general, created its own portrait and plans for the future. In this sense, European historical painting of the 19th century is terribly interesting to study, although, in my opinion, it did not leave, almost no, truly great works. And among these great works, I see one exception, which we Russians can rightfully be proud of. This is “The Morning of the Streltsy Execution” by Vasily Surikov.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
19th-century history painting, focused on superficial verisimilitude, usually follows a single hero who guides history or suffers defeat. Surikov’s painting here is a striking exception. Its hero is a crowd in colorful outfits, which occupies almost four-fifths of the picture; This makes the painting appear strikingly disorganized. Behind the living, swirling crowd, some of which will soon die, stands the motley, undulating St. Basil's Cathedral. Behind the frozen Peter, a line of soldiers, a line of gallows - a line of battlements of the Kremlin wall. The picture is cemented by the duel of glances between Peter and the red-bearded archer.
“A lot can be said about the conflict between society and the state, the people and the empire. But I think there are some other meanings to this piece that make it unique. Vladimir Stasov, a promoter of the work of the Peredvizhniki and a defender of Russian realism, who wrote a lot of unnecessary things about them, said very well about Surikov. He called paintings of this kind “choral.” Indeed, they lack one hero - they lack one engine. The people become the engine. But in this picture the role of the people is very clearly visible. Joseph Brodsky said beautifully in his Nobel lecture that the real tragedy is not when a hero dies, but when a choir dies.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
Events take place in Surikov’s paintings as if against the will of their characters - and in this the artist’s concept of history is obviously close to Tolstoy’s.
“Society, people, nation in this picture seem divided. Peter's soldiers in uniforms that appear to be black and the archers in white are contrasted as good and evil. What connects these two unequal parts of the composition? This is an archer in a white shirt going to execution, and a soldier in uniform who supports him by the shoulder. If we mentally remove everything that surrounds them, we will never in our lives be able to imagine that this person is being led to execution. These are two friends returning home, and one supports the other with friendship and warmth. When Petrusha Grinev was hanged by the Pugachevites in The Captain’s Daughter, they said: “Don’t worry, don’t worry,” as if they really wanted to cheer her up. This feeling that a people divided by the will of history is at the same time fraternal and united is an amazing quality of Surikov’s canvas, which I also don’t know anywhere else.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
Abstract
In painting, size matters, but not every subject can be depicted on a large canvas. Various painting traditions depicted villagers, but most often - not in huge paintings, but this is exactly what “Funeral at Ornans” by Gustave Courbet is. Ornans is a wealthy provincial town, where the artist himself comes from.
“Courbet moved to Paris, but did not become part of the artistic establishment. He did not receive an academic education, but he had a powerful hand, a very tenacious eye and great ambition. He always felt like a provincial, and he was best at home in Ornans. But he lived almost his entire life in Paris, fighting with the art that was already dying, fighting with the art that idealizes and talks about the general, about the past, about the beautiful, without noticing the present. Such art, which rather praises, which rather delights, as a rule, finds a very great demand. Courbet was, indeed, a revolutionary in painting, although now this revolutionary nature of him is not very clear to us, because he writes life, he writes prose. The main thing that was revolutionary about him was that he stopped idealizing his nature and began to paint it exactly as he saw it, or as he believed that he saw it.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
The giant painting depicts almost fifty people in almost full height. They are all real people, and experts have identified almost all the funeral participants. Courbet painted his fellow countrymen, and they were pleased to be seen in the picture exactly as they were.
“But when this painting was exhibited in 1851 in Paris, it created a scandal. She went against everything that the Parisian public was accustomed to at that moment. She insulted artists with the lack of a clear composition and rough, dense impasto painting, which conveys the materiality of things, but does not want to be beautiful. She frightened the average person by the fact that he could not really understand who it was. The breakdown of communications between the spectators of provincial France and the Parisians was striking. Parisians perceived the image of this respectable, wealthy crowd as an image of the poor. One of the critics said: “Yes, this is a disgrace, but this is the disgrace of the province, and Paris has its own disgrace.” Ugliness actually meant the utmost truthfulness.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
Courbet refused to idealize, which made him a true avant-garde of the 19th century. He focuses on French popular prints, and a Dutch group portrait, and ancient solemnity. Courbet teaches us to perceive modernity in its uniqueness, in its tragedy and in its beauty.
“French salons knew images of hard peasant labor, poor peasants. But the mode of depiction was generally accepted. The peasants needed to be pitied, the peasants needed to be sympathized with. It was a somewhat top-down view. A person who sympathizes is, by definition, in a priority position. And Courbet deprived his viewer of the possibility of such patronizing empathy. His characters are majestic, monumental, they ignore their viewers, and they do not allow one to establish such contact with them, which makes them part of the familiar world, they very powerfully break stereotypes.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
Abstract
The 19th century did not love itself, preferring to look for beauty in something else, be it Antiquity, the Middle Ages or the East. Charles Baudelaire was the first to learn to see the beauty of modernity, and it was embodied in painting by artists whom Baudelaire was not destined to see: for example, Edgar Degas and Edouard Manet.
“Manet is a provocateur. Manet is at the same time a brilliant painter, the charm of whose colors, colors very paradoxically combined, forces the viewer not to ask himself obvious questions. If we look closely at his paintings, we will often be forced to admit that we do not understand what brought these people here, what they are doing next to each other, why these objects are connected on the table. The simplest answer: Manet is first and foremost a painter, Manet is first and foremost an eye. He is interested in the combination of colors and textures, and the logical pairing of objects and people is the tenth thing. Such pictures often confuse the viewer who is looking for content, who is looking for stories. Manet doesn't tell stories. He could have remained such an amazingly accurate and exquisite optical apparatus if he had not created his last masterpiece already in those years when he was in the grip of a fatal illness.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
The painting "Bar at the Folies Bergere" was exhibited in 1882, at first earned ridicule from critics, and then was quickly recognized as a masterpiece. Its theme is a café-concert, a striking phenomenon of Parisian life in the second half of the century. It seems that Manet vividly and authentically captured the life of the Folies Bergere.
“But when we start to take a closer look at what Manet did in his painting, we will understand that there are a huge number of inconsistencies that are subconsciously disturbing and, in general, do not receive a clear resolution. The girl we see is a saleswoman, she must use her physical attractiveness to make customers stop, flirt with her and order more drinks. Meanwhile, she does not flirt with us, but looks through us. There are four bottles of champagne on the table, warm - but why not in ice? In the mirror image, these bottles are not on the same edge of the table as they are in the foreground. The glass with roses is seen from a different angle than all the other objects on the table. And the girl in the mirror does not look exactly like the girl who looks at us: she is thicker, she has more rounded shapes, she is leaning towards the visitor. In general, she behaves as the one we are looking at should behave.”
Ilya Doronchenkov
Feminist criticism drew attention to the fact that the girl’s outline resembles a bottle of champagne standing on the counter. This is an apt observation, but hardly exhaustive: the melancholy of the picture and the psychological isolation of the heroine resist a straightforward interpretation.
“These optical plot and psychological mysteries of the picture, which seem to have no definite answer, force us to approach it again every time and ask these questions, subconsciously imbued with that feeling of the beautiful, sad, tragic, everyday modern life that Baudelaire dreamed of and which will forever Manet left before us."
Ilya Doronchenkov
I chose this picture because it was based on a very interesting legend. And we are familiar with the artist. We discussed two of his works: “The Coronation of Napoleon” and “The Rape of the Sabine Women.”
"Oath of the Horatii"- painting by a French artist Jacques Louis David , written by him in 1784 in Rome . The following year the painting was exhibited in Paris and brought unprecedented success to the artist. “The Oath of the Horatii” became an example of the school of French that was emerging at that time neoclassicism.
STORY:
Initially, Rome was a colony of Alba Longa, the main city of the Italian Union. However, over the course of 100 years, Rome rose to prominence, while Alba Longa began to gradually lose its importance. The reason for the war was mutual border raids. After waiting for some time, the armies of Rome and Alba Longa met in the open field. However, Met Fufetius summoned Tullus Hostilius to negotiations and warned him that civil strife would weaken both cities, and the discord between Rome and Alba Longa could lead to both of these cities being enslaved by the Etruscans.
Therefore, it was decided to determine the winner through single combat of several selected soldiers. This is how the legendary battle took place between the three brothers Horace and Curiatius, from the side of Rome and Alba Longa, respectively. The Horatii were victorious and Alba Longa was forced into an offensive alliance with Rome against the Etruscans.
Sketch.Horace Brothers.
DESCRIPTION:
David captured the moment when three brothers raised their hands in roman greeting , vow to conquer or die, and their father hands them battle swords.
The Horatii's opponents are their childhood friends. One of them is engaged to the Horatii sister. Going into mortal combat, the brothers swear an oath to their father to protect the fatherland. They are unshakable and decisive in their noble impulse, emphasized by the unity of broad, energetic gestures. The father blesses them for their feat. David's heroes are free from contradictions and doubts. Their passions are subordinated to will and reason. They go into battle believing in the triumph of justice.
On the right is a group of mourning women: in the distance the mother of the Horatii bends over her two grandchildren, closer is the sister Camilla, the bride of one of the Curatii, and Sabina, the sister of the Curatii and the wife of one of the Horatii. Three are visible in the background arches , each of which corresponds to a group of figures: the right - to a group of women, the left - to brothers, the central one to a father with swords.
Camilla. Sister of the Horatii, the bride of one of the Curatii.
Sabina is the sister of the Curatii, the wife of one of the Horatii.
At the beginning of the battle, all the Albanians were wounded, and two Romans were killed. The last of the Horatii deliberately fled. When the pursuers were separated due to their wounds, Horace fought with each individually and quickly defeated them. Thus the Horatii were victorious, and Alba Longa was forced to enter into an offensive alliance with Rome against the Etruscans.
Tombs Horatii and Curiatiaccording to Livy, it was possible to see even in his time; two Roman ones together, and three Albanian ones separately - in accordance with the place in the field the brothers were killed.
Old Horace.
“The Oath of the Horatii” is a strange and wonderful picture: strange because of a certain uncertainty of what it still tells us about. Her place in history is enormous - she foresaw the rising moods in society, clearly articulating their essence. David said that he took the plot from Corneille and the form from Poussin. Having attended a performance of Pierre Corneille’s tragedy “Horace,” which told about the conflict between love and duty, David first chose an episode where Horace, convicted of the murder of his sister Camilla (who cursed him for the death of her fiancé, who was killed by him in battle), is defended by his father and the Roman people .
Friends dissuaded David from this plot, which, in their opinion, did not reflect any special mood of the time. David said he would choose the moment before the battle, when old Horace takes his son's oath to conquer or die - a moment that the artist could only assume, since there were no descriptions of it
In 1784 David, his wife and three disciples arrive in Rome , since, according to him, only in Rome could he write the Romans.
The younger sons of David were probably the model for the grandchildren over whom the Horatii mother bent.
David completed work on the painting only in July 1785. One of his students, Drouet, wrote: “It is impossible to describe her beauty.” When the workshop became open to the public, the response exceeded all the artist's expectations. “All of Rome” gathered to watch the “Oath of the Horatii,” which was considered the greatest tribute to the Eternal City. The workshop turned into an object of pilgrimage. Laudatory speeches were dedicated to the picture, even pope came to look at her.
TECHNIQUE:
The Oath of the Horatii" was performed in the style of French neoclassicism, and David used many techniques characteristic of this style.
- The background of the painting is shaded, while the figures in the foreground are highlighted to show their significance.
- Dull colors are used to show that the story being depicted is more important than the painting itself.
- A clear and precise composition indicates the symbolism of the number three and the triangle
- Preference is given to clear details instead of the light brush strokes characteristic of Rococo
- Only women show strong emotions, while men do their duty
- The heroic theme of the entire plot of the picture
“The Oath of the Horatii” became a turning point not only in the work of David, but also in all European painting. If the art of the 18th century was dominated by the “female universe” with its curved lines, now it began to give way to the verticals of the “male world”, emphasizing the dominant role of courage, heroism, and military duty. With this painting David gained fame throughout Europe.
THE PICTURE aroused conflicting feelings. On the one hand, the bravery and courage of the brothers. And on the other, disadvantaged children, unhappy women. One brother survived, and he also killed his sister out of revenge. It’s a shame that in such situations it’s always men who decide. What about you? do you think?
The Oath of the Horatii is considered David's masterpiece, both in its neoclassical style and in its absolute depiction of duty. The canvas, measuring 330 centimeters high and 425 centimeters wide, was begun in Paris, but was completely painted in Rome in 1785.
Legend
The plot was based on a theme from the history of Ancient Rome. The Horace brothers volunteered to fight in a duel with the Curiaci brothers from the city of Alba Longo. The duel was required so that in the irreconcilable struggle of the cities their armies, which were needed to repel the Etruscans, who were harassing both cities with raids, would not suffer. The confrontation could weaken these cities so much that the Etruscans could easily conquer them. Therefore, two armies had to meet on the field, and the outcome of the battle was decided by the battle of six opponents. At the very beginning, two Horatii were killed immediately, and three Curiatii were wounded. Using cunning, Horace, who remained unharmed, began to run away and, one by one, dealt with the bleeding opponents who were catching up with him. So Rome won the battle.
Family matters
The Horace brothers were related to their opponents. The brothers' sister was the bride of one of the Curiatii, and the elder Horace's wife was the sister of his enemies. Bound by such strong marriage bonds, the heroes of the picture swear to their father that they will either win or die, which exalts their patriotic feelings. The Oath of the Horatii itself - David's personal invention.
In France, there are suggestions that he was a Freemason, and was therefore inspired by the spectacular oath using swords, which express the idea of \u200b\u200bcourage and pride.
Composition triangles
The “Oath of the Horatii” is entirely composed of triangles and the number “three”, which has always been considered a symbol of perfection and stability: the divine symbiosis of three Christian entities, the mythological three graces, three destinies... So it is here: on each side there are three brothers, three groups of characters on painting, three arches in the background.
The three brothers took a stable triangle position. It shows the strength and unity of both the group as a whole and the stability of each of them. A father carries three swords to his sons. And finally, on the right, three women are presented to the viewer in three rows. In the background, a woman in black is the Horatii mother, comforting her two grandchildren.
Line stability
“The Oath of the Horatii” immediately emphasizes with a central horizontal line the division between the left part with male figures and the right part with female figures.
If men with outstretched arms are full of determination, strength and patriotism, then the women's lines located below the center line are all broken. They, crying and suffering, seemed to collapse, crushed by grief. The Horatii oath itself is embodied by characters drawn in strict and straight lines, the heroes rise above the composition, which makes their act heroic in contrast to the women who do not approve of their actions and are located much lower and curvilinear.
Perspective
As on stage, Jacques Louis David builds perspective. The Horatian oath is taken in a Roman villa, which has an aristocratic appearance. Three vertical vaults with columns correspond to each of the three groups of characters, which are symbolic. These symbols are "supported" by the architecture and are therefore like a proclaimed oath. The floor, made up of rectangular panels, is an important element of balance. Its dark extended elements under the father's feet are the starting point of the composition, which ends with the father's hand holding three swords.
Hero placement
It is strict and does not allow any accidents. One of the brothers is placed in the foreground by Jacques Louis David. The Oath of the Horatii provides an opportunity to consider his situation.
- The viewer sees his powerful back, his right hand raised to take an oath, and his left hand, which holds a spear.
- The hands of the other two brothers are also raised, as if they are waiting for their father to hand over the swords to them in the second place.
- The most telling detail is the point of convergence between the brothers and the father, especially the brother in the foreground. This is again a form of triad that unites the son, the father and the Eternal City. Perhaps this particular Horatii will survive the battle.
Painting colors
The men are dressed in bright colors, which again is meant to emphasize their masculinity, while the artist chooses dull colors for the women's clothing, which evoke a feeling of lethargy, sadness and inability to act. The most noticeable color in the male group is red, expressing their strength, desire for battle, and courage. White in this case can be understood as a symbol of divine purity, as well as a mission entrusted to the brothers by the father, the city and the gods. As for the color blue, it symbolizes wisdom, virtue, faith and peace. And again the viewer's attention is focused on the brother standing in the foreground. Since the time of Henry IV, guards have been dressed in these colors, then they switched to the flag of the French Revolution. It was Lafayette who created the tricolor as the new national colors. Therefore, the painting “The Oath of the Horatii” played the role of a “connector” between the country’s past and its future and was at that time a “beacon”, a symbol of the French Revolution.
Light
The light installed by David produces a dramatic effect. He uses Caravaggio's techniques.
The shadows are introduced in hard, contrasting ways, but the main characters are highlighted like a spotlight. This technique of symbolic highlighting is most often used when working with religious subjects. That is, when Horace takes an oath, it becomes, as it were, sacred. David uses this method to enhance the civil sound of the picture.
Thus, you can consider the painting “Oath of the Horatii”. A description of the picture, as complete as possible, was given above.
