French Painter and Draughtsman - Essay Example

French painter and draughtsman Frenchman Jacques-Louis David was born August 30, 1748, in Paris, and died December 29, 1825 in Brussels, Belgium. He was 77 years of age at the time of his death. He is considered by historians to be the most prominent painter of the Neo-classical art movement (era) in France. David came from a prosperous family with whom he lived pleasantly until he was about nine years old when his father was killed in a duel. Following his father’s death, David’s mother placed him in the care of his uncles who were noted architects. They enrolled him in the College des Quatre-Nations to study architecture. However, he was more interested in drawing than studying to be an architect. Because of David’s growing discontent and his failure to do well at the college, his mother and uncles sent him to study under a distant relative; Francois Boucher, a well-known Rococo artist. Soon Boucher also recognized David’s restlessness and his rejection of the Rococo genre. As a result of this Boucher persuaded his friend, Joseph-Marie Vien, to take David under wing for the purpose of instruction him in the classical painting style. He also wanted Vien to see to it that David the attended the Royal Academy-later to be known as The Louvre. Attending the academy represented another turning point in David’s life. Finally, he was able to do what he wanted to do. Excited about the possibilities now awaiting him, it wasn’t long until he met a constitute-Gavin Hamilton. With his approval and others of the same thinking, it wasn’t long until David was confident in his own abilities and works. Soon he was recognized as one of the most important artists of the neo-classical movement. However, he felt he could do more in Paris, and returned there in 1780. In the years following this, David began to be considered as one of the most serious artists of the times to represent the social and political society in which they lived. Still under tutelage of Vien, David was full of ambition and confident in his work to the point of believing he could win the academy’s acclaimed “Prix de Rome” award. After several failed attempts to do so, David became enraged at the judges, including Vien, for their favoring lesser talented students over him. According to legend, David was so upset over this that he attempted to starve himself. Overcoming his despair, he continued to compete for the award, and in 1774, he succeeded- his diligence had finally been rewarded. Soon after this, Vien was appointed director of the French Academy of Rome in Italy. Upon accepting the appointment, Vien decided to take David with him, and when they arrived there, Vien enrolled him into the French Academy. It was during this period that David came to know Gavin Hamilton who was one of the most important promoters of the classical movement. Hamilton became another important character in David’s life. He made it possible for David to solidify his desires to pursue classicism. It was also during this time that David was greatly influenced by the ruins of Pompeii; so much so that he filled twelve books with sketches of the old Roman site. David would incorporate these sketches into his work for the remainder of his life. They were also part of what established him as one of the greatest draughtsman of his time. While David was in Italy, he began to study the works of the great masters; in particular those of Raphael. As a student at the academy and in spite of his lack of social graces, David’s genius was recognized not only by his teachers but also by his fellow students. David studied there for five years and then returned to Paris, where he continued to effect a change in art ideas about classicism. One of the ways David did this was by becoming a member of the Royal Academy. Although two of David’s paintings were included in the Salon of 1781, the officers of the academy were not impressed; instead, they were angered by David’s arrogance. But the king was impressed with David and his works and offered him lodging in the Louvre. Shortly after this, the king’s building contractor arranged a marriage between David and his daughter, Marguerite Charlotte. David benefited financially from the marriage and he and Marguerite became the parents of four children as the result of it. By this time David had become successful as an art teacher with 40 to 50 students enrolled in his classes. David’s success continued to grow and as a result of it he was commissioned by the government to paint Horace defended by his Father. This precipitated David’s belief that only in “Rome could he paint Romans.” His father-in-law supported these beliefs and assisted him by providing the money for the trip to Rome. Soon David and Marguerite and their family, and three of David’s students left for Rome. It was there that his support of the French Revolution came to be evident in his paintings; the first of which was his famous Oath of the Horatii. David’s studies and hard work had done him well and never was this more evident that in his portrayal of Horatii. The painting is of epic proportions: It occupies an extremely important place in the body of David’s work and in the history of French painting. The story that inspired the painting was taken from Livy. This was the period of the wars between Rome and Alba, in 669 B.C. It had been decided that the dispute between the two cities must be settled by an unusual form of combat to be fought by two groups of three champions each; the two groups being the three Horatii brothers and the three Curiatii brothers. The drama of the story is heightened by the fact that one of the sisters of the Curiatii, Sabina, is married to one of the Horatii, while one of the sisters of the Horatii, Camilla, is betrothed to one of the Curiatii…the Horatiis father exhorts his sons to fight the Curiatii and they obey, despite the lamentations of the women. (1) …the woman dressed in the white is a Horatii sister weeping for both her fiancée and her brother, as the one dressed in brown is a Curiatii sister and their actions. As members of a patriarchal society, the men show no sense of emotion. Even the father shows no emotions. The three women are weeping, one in the back and two up closer; Curiatii sister who weeps for her husband and her brother; the woman in black in the back who is holding two children of one of the Horatii husband and the Curiatii wife. The younger daughter hides her face in her nanny’s dress as the son refuses to have his eyes shielded. David is visually telling this story by painting its pivotal characters, their actions and reactions to the tragedy. Through the painting, he shows the enduring loyalty of the male subjects to their people over the emotional feelings of the women. It is through such symbolisms that historians come to recognize David’s genius in visually engaging his audience into experiencing the drama present in his paintings. The painting also illustrates David’s dedication to the neoclassical style. David continues this theme of patriotism in the; Lucious Junius Brutus (the death of his sons). Again, he shows his belief in loyalty to one’s country over family as he portrays Brutus as he orders the death of his son’s to protect the republic. It is these works that establish David as the revolutionary painter of his times. Two of his other paintings; The Death of Mariat, and The Death of Socrates are equally important in terms of David’s political views. They deal with David’s glorification of those whom he considers worthy of martyrdom and worthy of epic representations. Both paintings have been compared to works by Michelangelo; The Mariat with The Pieta, and Socrates to the Sistine Chapel. The painting of Socrates has also been compared to the work of Raphael. It portrays Socrates taking the cup of hemlock from one of his grieving friends following his condemnation to death. Mariat is a political friend of David’s who is put to death because of his support of the revolution. Upon the heels of Mariat’s murder, David so closely aligns himself with Mariat that he is put in prison. In prison, David had plenty of time to rethink his political stance and its cost to him. Not only had his wife left him because of it, but his success as a painter was diminished. Possibly, as the result of the imprisonment and the lack of Marguerite’s support and love, David underwent a transformation. His next painting indicates that this did happen. The Intervention of the Sabine Women was inspired by the story of the abduction and rape of the Sabine women at the hands of Roman soldiers. In David’s painting a woman, “Hersilia,” is the focal point, she has, as have the other women in the painting positioned themselves as protectors of the innocent from the hands of the Roman soldiers. Some historians say the painting was done by David in honor of his wife. No longer angry with him, Marguerite did intercede for David and obtain his release from prison. It was this painting that brought him to the attention of Napoleon, who appointed him to be the official court painter. Following Napoleon’s regime, David was offered the same position by Bourbon King, Louis XVIII. However, he refused, preferring to seek exile for himself and his wife in Brussels. He was successful in this request and remained in Brussels, continuing to paint until he finished his last paintings, Mars Disarmed by Venus and the Three Graces in 1822. Three years later, he died from “deformations” to his heart which was caused by his having been hit by a carriage while leaving the theater. References The History of Art; second edition; H.W. Jansen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-Louis_David#Early_life Oath of the Horatii; Jacques-Louis David, 1784; Oil on Canvas; 326 x 420 cm; Louvre, Paris (1) Master Drawings – Recent Acquisitions – Le Claire, Thomas-Kunsthandel XVII The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons; Paris 1789 (150 Kb); Oil on canvas, 323 x 422 cm (127 1/4 x 166 1/4 in); Musee du Louvre, Paris The Death of Socrates; 1787 (100 Kb); Oil on canvas, 129.5 x 196.2 cm (51 x 77 1/4 in); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Marat Assassinated; 1793 (120 Kb); Oil on canvas, 165 x 128.3 cm (65 x 50 1/2 in); Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique The Intervention of the Sabine Women, 1799; Oil on canvas, 385 x 522 cm; Musée du Louvre Read More