Analysis of The Oath of the Horatii - Research Paper Example

The Oath of the Horatii Some artists get an ever-lasting recognition because of their radical approach to painting and due to their revolutionary artworks. Frenchman Jacques-Louis David is one such artist because he is known to be one of the most preeminent and controversial painters of the era, which marked the change in the history of French painting. He is well-known for his grandiose history paintings, particularly with political and social connotations. One among his popular works, the Oath of the Horatii, an oil-on-canvas painting, is famed for its artistry and diverse perspectives. This particular picture provides a lot of significance to David’s body of works because it is his introduction to neoclassicism style in French paintings. David painted this masterpiece with the intention to evoke a patriotic charm. So, by depicting the heroic grandeur of republic Rome, he wanted to interpret the themes of solidarity and sacrifice to nation. The painting carries the unique composition of this subject matter, limiting the opulent frills and laces, which are in sharp contrast to the classical French painting. The analysis focuses on this visual art of David, including the contextualization of the artwork and the artist from different perspectives, particularly from technological, political, regional, economic, religious, ethnic, gender, and generational viewpoints. Born in 1748 to a prosperous family in Paris, Jacques-Louis David was an influential painter of neoclassical style in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth-centuries. After his initial years of formal education, he was tutored by Joseph-Marie Vien, who embraced the newfangled classical reaction to Rococo in his paintings. In the 1780s, he established his career as a Salon painter and was soon lodged by the King in the Louvre, an ancient prestigious privilege for great artists. From this date, David rose to fame and prospered rapidly. Being a fervent believer in radical politics, David worked with the foremost leaders of the French Revolution, particularly Robespierre, staunchly supporting his dictatorial regime. He used his arts to influence and develop the civic direction of the public towards the existing political scenario. After the end of Robespierre’s reign, David became an earnest “Bonapartist” to France’s succeeding monarch, Napoleon. But, soon after Napoleon’s deposition, David was exiled to Brussels, where he worked and painted for rest of his lifetime until his death in1825. Throughout his lifetime, he served as an artist and propagandist influencing politics and history with the power of his paint brush. David’s artworks sensibly present the historical situations and issues surrounding the French Revolution in an uncompromising style, filled with emotional and patriotic content. Some of his artworks that glorified the revolution with views of honor, self-sacrifice, and duty include Tennis Court Oath (1792), The Death of Marat (1793), Distribution of Eagles (1810) and many more. His morally uplifting Death of Socrates (1787), archaeologically interesting Paris and Helen (1789), and the self-sacrifice themed, The Lictors Bringing to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons, were few of his notable works that gained much recognition in the later years. The theme of sacrifice to home and country is one among the recurring themes in David’s paintings. Furthermore, he also made few privately commissioned portraits such as Brutus (1789), which had an unanticipated political significance. The pathos and aesthetic sense of his paintings brought him to the limelight, adding fame and recognition, as well as had a long-term effect and influence on French painting styles. Jacques-Louis David’s Oath of the Horatii was a sensational painting of the time, depicting the Roman Horatius family brothers saluting the swords held up by their father, even as the women behind him expresses grief over the situation. The painting expresses loyalty and solidarity of the triplet brothers for their nation, while the lamenting of the women depicts their concern for the loss after the battle. In the painting, David illustrates a moment from the History of Rome of Tite-Live, a combat between the three Horatii, the champions of Rome, and the three Curiaces, champions of Alba, which is a kind of ritual duel to settle disputes between the two cities. With the father holding the three swords, the three sons of Horatius swear the oath to sacrifice their lives for defending Rome, and this is used by the artist to express people’s patriotism for the French Revolution. The spectacular intensity of the moment is delivered through the resolute gaze, outstretched arms, and tautness of the triplet brothers, even as the artist portrays them as citadels of patriotism, a highest virtue of Rome. David clearly mirrors the clarity of the purpose and poses the message of nobility, sacrifice, and solidarity in his painting. However, this galvanic intensity of the men in the painting is in all contrast with the women, who are shown as mourning for their brothers and their fiancés as they fear about the possible loss of their loved ones in the aftermaths of war. A revolutionary, corporeal aesthetic technique by David dominated the French paintings during the late eighteenth and early decades of the nineteenth century. “David imposed on French painting a new aesthetic of the body, in which the configuration of the entire human figure radiated meaning and served as the locus of expressivity and communication” (Johnson 92). The Neoclassicism style of painting at the start of the French Revolution, substituted Rococo’s freedom and irregularity with more balance, order, and proportion. In addition, it included the ideals that matched the Republicans’ and latter radicals’ political view of social equality, solidarity, and liberty. David’s works received much critical technological acclaim, which particularly laid the grounds for the Neoclassicism. In the times when the fashion for Rococo was changing to a more classical style, he introduced new technological style that trivializes ancient subjects, and encouraged rigorous study of classical sources with close adherence to ancient exemplars. This technological change in the style of paintings influenced the French Revolution and was rigorously adopted in the period under the leadership of David. Paintings of Neoclassicism style generally emphasizes on austere linear design in its depiction of subject matter, using an archeologically accurate costumes and settings. The frivolously decorative style of Rococo was contrasted with quiet grandeur and simplicity in the Neoclassicism paintings. David used Neoclassicism style paintings as an artistic response to the popular Rococo style, which was known for its floral decors and light-shaded hues. This trend was manifested in his Oath of the Horatii, as his using of austere lines at central focal point and his darker as well as moodier colors created an ambience that was completely unparalleled from the traditional Rococo style. The compositional techniques of neoclassical style art used by David in the Oath of the Horatii makes the picture to be intricately bound with the historical subject. “He gives the men energetic bodies constructed out of straight lines and dresses them in vivid colors, while the women are all in sinuous curves and muted colors” (Lerouge). David’s masterful visual techniques such as fore-shadowing and chiaroscuro enforce a new level of technological advancement in French painting styles of that period. Although the Oath of the Horatii is an important painting artistically, it also had a prominent political significance. Exhibited in his Paris Salon in 1785, the painting posits the importance of loyalty and patriotism, which are key political issues of that period. Although, the subject of the painting is a sober moment, it is charged with courage and stoicism because the three brothers of Horatii lend oath to their father, despite the lamentations of the women. It was later viewed as a call for Republican values, depicting the significance of self-sacrifice through the Horatii brothers, who are pledging allegiance to Rome, their home country. “By depicting an image of self-sacrifice in the name of the republic, David was using events from ancient history to represent the political turmoil in France and suggesting the republican ideal of loyalty to state” (Benson 3). Moreover, the painting is typically done in the context of the French Revolution as the act of personal sacrifice for the sake of political ideal, transfigured by the oath, invokes a sense of patriotism among the viewers. It is obvious for the viewers to identify the painting as an effectuation to rally Republicans by stating the importance of dedication and sacrifice for the cause of their political ideals. Apart from the political influence, the regional forces also injected the revolution of French art during the late eighteenth-century. The time when the painting, the Oath of the Horatii, was exhibited, France’s political climate was unstable because of the confrontation between the regional forces of aristocracy and the lower class. The dialectic between the state of power and the underlying class created a regional rebellion, which had a considerable influence in shaping the concept of art and neoclassicism in French painting. Through the story of three Horatii brothers, the artist promoted a centralized pride, which he expressed through the language of grandeur. David’s Oath of the Horatii “is the most characteristic and striking expression of the outlook of bourgeoisie on the eve of the revolution and the historically inevitable style of David’s picture accurately reflected its social background” (Kleinbauer 78) The concept of patriotism and unity was appealed to both the public and the aristocracy, but in different ways. The artist was swaying with the power for benefits and protection, and so took a more neutral position and his art portrayed the society in a way that is was accepted for its opinion and political views. The economic aspect of the painting can be articulated based on the time and place in which the artist drew it. In the eighteenth-century France, it was an honor as well as financially beneficial for artists to secure a royal commission and gain personal relationship with the people in power. David was successful as a leading artist and patronage painter, enjoying benefits of both security and profit. When David created the Oath of the Horatii, he deliberately chose a historic scene that sat well with the royals, pleasing the French Academy of Arts as well as the general public. David was employed by the French Monarchy and so his paintings had to coordinate with the monarchy’s doctrines and views. So, the painting of Oath of the Horatii, which was purposefully revealing the importance of patriotism-inspired different reactions among both the French Revolutionists and the public, perhaps favoring all the eyes. Because of these reasons, the painting became a considerable sensation during the times and reaped David enormous profits. “Although David would always sympathize with republican politics, his painting would tend to side with the opinions that promised the most profits and protection” (Benson 3). .Uncompromising civic duty is greatly honored in the Neoclassical and revolutionary ideology with little consideration to any of the Christian virtues of love, mercy, and compassion. Moreover, neither does family nor God have a place in the revolutionary order of the totalitarian state. So, on those lines only, David depicted the patriotism and heroism of the three brothers in the Oath of the Horatii, even while sidelining the grief of the women. Actually, the French revolution was virulently anti-Catholic and anti-clerical. David was the chief liturgist for the deistic ‘Cult of the Supreme Being’, which was established to complete the official de-christianization of France. Moreover, he was an atheist with no thought for God or scriptures. Actually, he “never painted religious subjects, they not inspiring him in the slightest degree… He often declared that the Scriptures spoke not to his heart… His god was Socrates, his religion love of country, liberty his worship” (Schrauzer). This is the reason for the non-existence of Christian or religious themes in Neoclassical paintings of David, including the Oath of the Horatii. The idea of unity expressed in the painting has a consequent linkage with the idea of indivisibility of the nation’s local differences. This conception encourages various mass-mobilizing social policies for creating a common political and social culture that would replace various ethnic cultures of the heterogeneous community. According to the artist, the nationalist language of unity signifies social cohesion and brotherhood which is well portrayed in the painting of the Oath of the Horatii.. Through the painting, “the nationalist concept of solidarity turns back its ethnic roots and seeks a uniformity that will transcend cultural differences with the projected nation” (Smith 76). Moreover, this ideal of union and kinship among all the citizens, instead of being divided by ethnicities, was known as the ‘fraternite’ by the French patriots during the Revolution. This painting particularly posits the family metaphor in a secular, political guise, symbolizing the oath of the brothers as the union of fraternal citizens. The issue of social gender roles is apparent in the painting, as it contrasts the strength of men to the weakness of women. The three women in the Oath of the Horatii are depicted in submissive tones in line with the social ideas of eighteenth-century Rome. Conforming to the then period of France, the painting represents stronger and powerful men with attributes of rigor and loyalty. On the other hand, the women in the background are shown to be mourning, representing their weak and tender-hearted nature. Also, the woman in green robes embracing their children emphasizes the role of women as a child-rearing home-maker. In the contrary, the men are shown with swords and dressed in virile outfits, symbolizing their authority and responsibility in the society. Moreover, the father in the painting seems to ignore the women in the ritual of oath-taking, and they are depicted to be appearing in smaller cornered scale than the male figures. The masculine virility is displayed through rigid and confident stances while the women in the picture are slouching and swooning with feminine softness. The picture clearly presents “male courage and strength from the muscular arms and legs, female weakness from the swooning gestures and supine position of the women figures” (Berg 45). There is obvious division of female-male attributes, which are mostly confined to the social stereotyping of specific gender roles, in the patriarchate system of then period. The picture Oath of the Horatii assigns its meaning not only in the national context but has a significant family image underlying the genealogical concept and the hierarchy between the father and his three sons. As they vow to their father to fight for their homeland and willing to lay their lives in the process, they symbolize the generational kinship that are descended from their ancestors. The oath-taking symbolizes the passage of male authority from an older generation to the younger for a patriotic cause. At another level, this represents the nation as a fraternal union, where the patriarchic power is transferred from one generation to another among the citizens. Using family metaphors in national discourse is to portray the national independence in terms of inter-generational struggle for union and solidarity. “The nation is often depicted as a great family, invoking associations of common ancestry, of the warmth and support of kin relations, and of a close-knit inter-generational structure projecting itself into the future” (Kaplan 227). Jacques-Louis David’s Oath of the Horatii is a spectacular painting that transforms a solemn event into a moment charged with great intensity and patriotic leanings. The artist effectively symbolizes the will and dedication of the individuals with their gestures and postures in the painting. Moreover, the painting has various technological, political, regional, economic, religious, ethnic, gender, and generational implications shaping and influencing the French Revolution as well as the art of those times. So, by presenting a moralistic and a patriotic theme, David turned this piece of artistic work into a noble and heroic historical painting which is being recognized and honored in the current times as well. Works Cited Benson, Katherine. “Changing Times, Changing Allegiances: Jacques-Louis David.” University of Rochester. 2012. Web. 8 March 2015. Berg, William J. Imagery and Ideology: Fiction and Painting in Nineteenth-Century France. Associated University Presse, 2007. Johnson, Dorothy. “Corporality and Communication: The Gestural Revolution of Diderot, David, and the Oath of the Horatii.” The Art Bulletin 71.1 (1989): 92-113. Kaplan, Danny. “What can the Concept of Friendship contribute to the Study of National Identity?” Nations and Nationalism 13.2 (2007): 225-244. Kleinbauer, W. Eugene. Modern Perspectives in Western Art History: An Anthology of Twentieth-Century Writings on the Visual Arts. University of Toronto Press, 1971. Lerouge, Ophelie. “The Oath of the Horatii.” Louvre, n. d. Web. 7 Mar 2015. Smith, Anthony D. National Identity. University of Nevada Press, 1991. Schrauzer, Michael. “Rational Monsters.” Catholic Answers Magazine, 5 May 2008. Web. 7 March 2015. Read More