The post Virgin of the Rocks appeared first on The Artist.

Oath of the Horatti is considered as one of the best-known paintings in the Neoclassical style by Jacques Louis David.

The picture depicts a scene of a dispute between two warring cities from a Roman legend, Rome and Alba Longa stress the importance of self-sacrifice, masculine and patriotism for one’s country. History tells us that instead of sending their armies to war the two cities agree to choose three men from their own each city, the man who won the fight will be regarded as the victorious man and victorious city. So, three brothers from a Roman family (namely the Horatii) agreed to fight with the three brothers from a family of Alba Longa (namely the Curiatii) resulting from the winner by the end of the war. The three brothers of Rome, willing to sacrifice their lives are shown in the picture, saluting their father who holds their swords out for them.

On the other hand, out of the three Horatii brothers, only one shall survive the confrontation. It was the only surviving brother from Rome who was able to kill the other three fighters from Alba Longa. He chases the three fighters till they separate from each other and then kills each of the Curiatii brothers separately. David, the painter also represents a woman crying whilst sitting down in the bottom right corner of the painting. Her name was Camilla who was a sister of the Horatii brothers who was married to one of the Curiatii fighters and thus she weeps in the realization that when the fight is over she will lose someone she loves.

When the royalty, the churchmen, and aristocrats went to view the picture, they eulogized it. The Pope expressed his desire to view The Oath of the Horatii. Jacques Louis David wanted the painting exhibited in the Salon but his enemies (at the Academy) took advantage of the picture and exhibit in a poor locale in the gallery.

The work can be viewed at Louvre in Paris.

The post Oath of the Horatii appeared first on The Artist.

The full title of this work according to many historians was Brutus returning home after having sentenced his sons for plotting a tarquinian restoration and conspiring against roman freedom, the Lictors burnt their bodies to be buried.

Lucius Junius Brutus who was a roman leader was shown in the canvas grieving for his dead son. Brutus sons had tried to overthrow the government of Rome and restore the monarchy. The father ordered their death to maintain the republic of Rome. Brutus was the heroic defender who chose the republic instead of his own family. On the right side of the picture, Mother holds her two daughters and the servant was shown on the far right in anguish. Brutus on the left was sitting alone on a klismos brooding but knowing that he had no other choice and what he did was best for his country. The whole picture was a republican symbol and had added meaning of patriotism during these times in France.

Brutus shown tense with crossed feet in the picture and the use of light and dark color was to draw a distinction between Brutus and his wife. Brutus does not even look back as his headless sons are brought into the room. Jacques-Louis David painted this picture in the Neo-Classical manner. In 1789, it was hotly controversial to bring such a subject which reveals how deeply the artist was committed to new ideas and enlightenment principals.

David wanted to exhibit his picture in the Salon but before that the French Revolution had begun. The newspapers in France reported that the government had banned the showing of the famous painting The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons’, the people were outraged on the government and several royals were forced to give up. The painting was then hung in the exhibition and protected by art students.

The work can be viewed at Louvre in Paris.

The post The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons appeared first on The Artist.

Grande Odalisque also was known by the name Une Odalisque or La Grande Odalisque attracted wide criticism when it was first shown publically.

This painting was commissioned by Queen Caroline Murat of Naples who was also Napoleon’s sister and the picture got finished in 1814. Ingres go through upon works of other famous paintings such as Dresden Venus by Giorgione, and Titian’s famous Venus of Urbino as an inspiration for Grande Odalisque nude figure though the actual pose in the picture of a woman reclining figure looking back over her shoulder is directly drawn from the picture of Madame Recamier in 1809 by Jacques Louis David who was also a French painter.

Auguste Dominique Ingres portrays a concubine in languid pose as seen from behind with distorted proportions. The small head of the woman with elongated limbs and the color scheme reveals influences from Mannerists such as Parmigianino whose painting was also long famous for anatomical distortion, the Madonna with the long neck. The picture has been especially noted for the elongated proportions of the woman and the lack of anatomical realism and thus leads to its wide criticism.

The nude figure in Grande Odalisque was thought to be drawn with two to three vertebrae. Critics believed at that time that the elongations of the figure are errors on the part of Ingres but then recent studies show the elongations drawn have been deliberate distortions. Measurements are taken showed that Ingres’s figure drawn that of a real women with a curvature of the spine and rotation of the pelvis was impossible to replicate. The study by the critics believed that the figure was longer by five instead of two or three vertebrate

The work can be viewed at Louvre in Paris.

The post Grande Odalisque appeared first on The Artist.

The official title of The Coronation of Napoleon was “ Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of the Empress Josephine in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris”.

In this painting, Napoleon I was standing dressed similar to those of Roman emperors in coronation robes. There are also others several spectators present. Josephine de Beauharnais was kneeling according to the French Civil Code in a submissive position. She received the crown from her husband and not the pope. Maria Letizia Ramolino was mother to Napoleon, the painter gives her a suitable position in the stands occupies a place more important than the pope. Louis Bonaparte married the daughter of Josephine namely Hortense de Beauharnais who received the title of grand constable. Joseph Bonaparte did not attend as he was not invited because of an argument with Napoleon.

The Coronation of Napoleon depicts the coronation of Napoleon I at Notre-Dame de Paris by the official painter of Napoleon, Jacques Louis David. The work was commissioned by Napoleon in September 1804 and David started working on the picture on 21 December 1805 in the former chapel of the College of Cluny which served as a workshop near the Sorbonne. Georges Rouget who was assistant student to David put the finishing touches in January 1808. The work was exhibited at the Salon annual painting display from 7 February to 21 March 1808 and it was presented to the decennial prize competition.

Until 1819, the painting remained the property of David after that it was then transferred to the Royal Museums till 1837 where it was stored in the reserves. King Louis-Philippe ordered to install the painting in the Chamber Sacre of the museum. It is regarded as of the historical Palace in Versailles. In 1889, the painting was then transferred to the Louvre from Versailles and remained in Louvre till date.

The work can be viewed at Louvre in Paris.

The post The Coronation of Napoleon appeared first on The Artist.

Leonidas at Thermopylae occupied Jacques Louis David for almost fifteen years.

The painting shows Leonidas, the Spartan king prior to the Battle of Thermopylae. The picture, Leonidas at Thermopylae was finished the very same year on which Napoleon transforms a military defeat into a moral victory abdicated for the first time. Leonidas is naked in the center of the picture and preparing for combat. On the left of the picture, a soldier climbs on the wall of rock with the famous phrase “Go, passer-by, to Sparta tell to her law we fell”. Most of the soldiers embrace themselves before meeting their death in combat while others equip themselves with weapons and shields. In the background, we can see the ships of the Persian army coming towards them.

David made many sketches in starting as a trial for his composition and then constantly changing the groups and the poses of the figures. Leonidas was seen in a three-quarter profile In an early drawing around 1799 and the groups around him were more confusing. In the background of the painting, an immense landscape of rocks was closed off. In the final painting, the tree has far fewer branches and leaves on the right because now, we can see a caravan of mules leaving from the battlefield. Louis did this to free up the background.

The drawing was produced for a friend of Louis named as Count Sommariva, an art lover. It was purchased by the Louvre in Paris during the sale of the painting immediately after Louis died in 1826. Louis worked on this painting extremely hard, returning to it many times which is why there is partly a feeling of coarseness.

The work can be viewed at Louvre in Paris.

The post Leonidas at Thermopylae appeared first on The Artist.