Classical Ideals Represented in Eighteenth Century Paintings - Essay Example

Art History ICAL IDEALS REPRESENTED IN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY PAINTINGS Introduction One of the important characteristics of the late eighteenth century was a revival of interest in classical antiquity which was established in neoclassicism, a movement that was based on the subjects and styles of ancient art. The defining element of neoclassicism was an interest in Greek and Roman culture which encompassed painting, sculpture and architecture, and extended to people’s choices in fashion and home décor. This focus on classicism was partly due to the emphasis given to rationality, beauty and harmony during the Enlightenment (1650-1800) which were in alignment with the geometric harmony and aesthetics of classical art and architecture. The classical cultures of Greece and Rome with their well evolved political organization were based on traditions of liberty, civic virtue, morality and sacrifice; and were considered worthy of emulation, during the great political upheavals in Britain (Gardner et al, 2005: 814). The significance of classical ideals in this era, emphasized neoclassicism during the French and American revolutions. Also, spectacular finds from the excavations of the Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, buried in 79 CE by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, further fuelled public interest in classic art and architecture. Additionally, the scholarly attention of art historians such as Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768) focused on the ancient world and classical antiquity, thus extensively increasing interest in neoclassicism. The reknowned art critic and poet Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) observed that eighteenth century paintings contained “a form of perfection borrowed from a repertory of classical ideals” (Gardner et al, 2005: 862). This paper proposes to determine the extent of truth in Charles Baudelaire’s above statement, by studying works of art from the eighteenth century painted by well-known artists of the time: Anton Raphael Mengs, Gavin Hamilton, Angelica Kauffman and Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun. Discussion In the intellectual and artistic world of eighteenth century Britain, there was a sense of optimism about progress towards an improved society, emerging from several important aspects of the Enlightenment, and from the economic revolutions of the period (Spadafora, 1990: Intro). One of the manifestations of this optimism is seen in the art of the period, which incorporates various classical ideals including rationality, harmony, simplicity, proportion, and aesthetics. Influential theoretical and historical writings also contributed to the change in taste. Winckelmann, German archaeologist, art historian and philosopher believed that art did not imitate life, and qualities superior to nature: “ideal beauties, brain-born images” are found in Greek art (Metmuseum, 2008). Beyond replication, these qualities took art to greater heights of beauty and perfection. The concept of ideal forms, originally in Platonic texts had been discussed by scholars since the Renaissance; but Winckelmann’s description was widely acclaimed. In his important work Reflections on the Painting and Sculpture of the Greeks, 1755, he wrote: “The most eminent characteristic of Greek works is a noble simplicity and sedate grandeur in gesture and expression. As the bottom of the sea lies peaceful beneath a foaming surface, a great soul lies sedate beneath the strife of passions in Greek figures” (Metmuseum, 2008). Anton Raphael Mengs, Gavin Hamilton, Angelica Kauffman and Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun are artists who belong to the first generation of neoclassical painters (Metmuseum, 2008). Anton Raphael Mengs Anton Raphael Mengs (German, 1728–1779), a protégé of Winckelmann, chief artist of the Dresden court, and also commissioned to work on royal frescoes in Madrid as first painter to the King, used classical themes extensively in his paintings. Like many artists during the 1700s, Anton Raphael Mengs developed his expert painting skills by studying works from antiquity, the Renaissance, and the Baroque from his travels to Italy. Mengs began to study art seriously at the age of twelve, when he accompanied his father on a trip to Rome. He made several drawings during his four-year stay, and then returned to Dresden, where he became a successful pastel portrait painter. His skillful use of dry pastel crayons helped him achieve the effect of oil painting in his art, from his ability to produce an unusual degree of colour saturation and glossy brilliance. Mengs began using oil colours during his second trip to Rome in 1746. Besides working as a court painter in Dresden and Madrid, Mengs “spent the remainder of his life in Italy painting altarpieces, frescoes, and Grand Tour portraits of young English aristocrats, for whom he also acted as an art and antiquities dealer” (Getty, 2008). Anton Raphael Mengs’ Allegoria del Museo Clementino (Allpaintings, (b),2008) In the above painting by Mengs Allegoria del Museo Clementino (or the Allegory of History), a revival of the Egyptian ideals of art can be observed. The Allegory of History (c. 1772-1773), a fresco of size 420 x 260 cm. at the Vatican in Rome, is the subject of the main decorations of the Camera dei Papiri. The painting is a harmoniouis composition, and depicts Genius carrying manuscripts, who is heralded by Fame, advances towards History, who is attended by Time and by Janus. The latter points to a picture of the Museo Pio-Clementino. (Curl, 2005: 168). The painting is also explained to depict Cleo, the muse of History as the central figure. She is looking up at a Janus-headed figure which represents History itself, indicated by the opposites of Youth and Age as Time passing. This painting reflects a late Baroque style. An allegory of Time is Chronos who is crouched at the front, cradling his scythe. “A youthful winged figure wreathed in ivy approaches from the left, carrying rolls of papyrus” (Walther et al, 2002: 394). This indicates that the function of the room is that of a library. The winged figure lends an air of poetry whose characteristic is ivy, and is one of the sources of history. Above the group, Fama announces their fame with her trumpet. Anton Raphael Mengs as a classicist and theoretician comes through in his depiction of the figure of History as an allegorical neologism, while Clio, Chronos and Fama all belong to the traditional canon of mythological figures. History is shown to confidently walk past Time without being touched by it, pointing towards the anitquities exhibited in the museum. “History is shown here to be as timeless as historiography itself” (Walther et al, 2002: 394). Mengs had studied the works of Michelangelo and Raphael, and won acclaim as one of the leading masters in neoclassicism (Curl, 2005: 168). “Taste” in art was associated with the concept of a “Grand Manner” as seen in the works of Anton Raphael Mengs. The preoccupations with questions of taste and principles of beauty led to the emergence of modern aesthetics. The art critic Baudelaire believed that an artwork should leave an element of incompleteness, for the viewer to use his imagination (Carrier, 1996: 174). Focus on rational standards of beauty and taste manifested in a suitably “grand manner” based on the classical ideal, also developed into other divergent interests. In the mid-eighteenth century arose a modern interest in the integrated concepts of originality and genius. For Anton Raphael Mengs and other artists such as Reynolds of his time, genius in art meant a mastery of the rules. Harrison et al (2000: 641) advocate the requirement for rules in the creation of perfect and progressive art. They state that “sensibility, imagination and genius can never produce, without rules and knowledge, anything but dreams and monstrous productions”. Mengs was included in initiatives to reform the Academy at Madrid, and his recommendations were implemented in 1773. Meng’s ideas on reform supported a re-assertion of the importance of classical ideals and a strengthening of the established academic regime. From the mid-eighteenth century, however, genius came to be associated with the use of individual imagination in the violation of rules; although standard taste, incontestable virtue and civic responsibility as the goal of education and personal cultivation continued to be the basis of protocols in society (Harrison et al, 2000: 424-425). Gavin Hamilton Gavin Hamilton (1723-1798), the Scottish history painter, archaeologist and Roman tour guide had established an international reputation as a great champion of severe classicist history painting. The “grand manner” of paintings by artists of the era, based on the elements of neoclassicism revealed an undecided characteristic, since there was a process of change in “classicism and modernity, refinement and martial action, the domestic and the public in physical and social contexts”, which made the image of the hero unsteady (Myrone, 2005: 47). At this time, Gavin Hamilton’s paintings offered a simpler image of Sublime and primal heroism based on classical models. He worked on six paintings which depicted subjects from Homer’s Iliad. Each was about 3 metres high and 4 metres wide, and were executed from 1760 to around 1775. “The Iliad series was the most visible attempt by a British artist to establish himself as a painter of heroic subjects” (Myrone, 2005: 47). Layers of complexity and paradox are revealed in the Iliad series which can be considered as emerging from the radically reformed ideas of the Sublime and the primitive that fuelled contemporary appreciation of Homer. There was an exodus of artists to Italy after 1748, among whom was Gavin Hamilton, and also Anton Raphael Mengs, as reviewed earlier. These artists enjoyed the patonage extended by British and Irish Grand Tourists who were visiting Italy, especially around 1760, after the war (Myrone, 2005: 55).. Achilles Bewailing the Death of Patroclus (1760–63), a scene from Homers Iliad. (Errington, 1978: 12) The lament over the body of Patroclus in the image above represents the Greek mythological character of Achilles grieving the death of his best friend. In the painting, Hamilton excludes the Gods from intervening in the affairs of men, and secondly, there is no representation of direct physical violence. Instead, Hamilton has brought to life reflective moments of pure feeling, “moments of respite from action when the participants have time to experience their suffering and even linger in their pain” (Errington, 1978: 12). The strange paradoxes of Achilles’ character are also reflected in Hamilton’s theme. The gigantic canvas of Achilles Bewailing the Death of Patroclus, executed in Rome c.1760-1763, is displayed in the National Gallery of Scotland. Gavin Hamilton’s sympathetic and intelligent interpretation of Homer’s Iliad in his series of six paintings, is the basis for his originality which makes his works stand out convincingly from other artists who had illustrated Homer earlier. “The rich and extended Iliad narrative lends itself naturally to arrangements in pictorial sets or series” (Errington, 1978: 11). Hamilton’s six paintings are a true series, in which each picture relates to the one before and the picture which comes after it; each action is the consequence of the one preceding it. The first and last episodes initiate and conclude the action, respectively. Angelica Kauffman The art of Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807) was characterized by her transformation of simple figures, homely situations, and contemporary settings in natural and moral pictures through neoclassicism that contained elements of the Rococo style. Kauffman was born in Switzerland, trained in Italy, and spent many of her creative years in England. She was a successful interior decorator and enjoyed a high reputation as the founding member of the British Royal Academy of Arts (Gardner et al, 2005: 814). Angelica Kauffman like Mengs and Hamilton, was also in Rome during the crucial decade of the 1760s, spending most of the period 1763-1765 in that city (Walch, 1967: 124). Kauffman was a child prodigy, producing her first commissioned work at the age of twelve. She was very popular and wealthy in her time, unlike many female artists. She painted allegorical, mythological and historical subjects, as well as subjects from literature and portraits. Most of the art pieces were executed in the sentimental fashion of the 18th century. In the paintings of her early Roman period, her drawings were of great significance as compared to colouring, which indicates her alignment with the beliefs of Mengs and the aesthetic ideas of neo-classicism. In later works on mythological subjects, the historical accuracy of details was increased and embellishments appeared. By painting mostly female subjects from classical history and mythology, Kauffman developed her own brand of history painting. The eighteenth century emphasis on classical ideals is clearly seen in Kauffman’s choice of subjects, and her unique style of portraying the human form can be identified in all her works. Angelica Kauffman’s art portrayed a refined, neither masculine nor feminine, androgynous, slim image of the body which represented polite refinement (Myrone, 2005: 125). She created an impressive array of self-portraits besides her extensive works on classical themes. Angelica Kauffman’s Cleopatra Before Augustus has been replicated by her, from two other paintings on the same subject. This painting is similar to Augustus and Cleopatra executed by Anton Raphael Mengs; especially the kneeling Cleopatra, the pose and gesture closely echoes that of Mengs’ work. Kauffman’s figure of Augustus bears a striking similarity to the composition by artist Gravelot, almost reproducing the same image. (Walch, 1967: 124). A Comparison of Two Similar Paintings by Kauffman and Mengs Kauffman’s Cleopatra Before Augustus (Walch, 1967: 125) Mengs’ Augustus and Cleopatra (Allpaintings, (a), 2008) Angelica Kauffman’s Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi, Pointing to her Children as Her Treasures (VMFA, 2008) Koffman’s painting Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi, Pointing to her Children as Her Treasures is from the era of early neoclassicism. The theme is an informative example of virtue drawn from Greek and Roman history and literature (Gardner et al, 2005: 815). This is one of her homely themes in a contemporary situation which she has transformed to produce a neoclassical impact, through the appropriate use of clothing and background effects. The discreet hints at antiquity are in the free-flowing garments and the architectural details such as the large pillar in the background. Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun (1755-1842), the painter of portraits and famous throughout Europe, became known by the age of fifteen, executed commissioned work for aristocrats from the age of seventeen, and by the age of twenty was the official portraitist of the French queen, Marie- Antoinette. Exiled in 1789 after the arrest of the king and queen, she travelled in all the capitals of Europe with her daughter. In 1802 she returned to Paris when it was safe, and wrote her memoirs Souvenirs from 1835 to 1837 (Larsen & Winn, 2000: 573). Some of Vigee Le Brun’s best known works are her magnificent portraits of Marie-Antoinette, either alone or surrounded by her children, and her more intimate and informal self-portraits either before her easel with palette in hand, or in her role as mother, in a tender and protective pose with her young daughter, as seen below: Vigee Le Brun’s Self-Portrait With Her Daughter (Vigee Le Brun Gallery, a.) As a portrait artist, she produced numerous works on commission. Art historians, literary and feminist critics only recently began focusing their interest on Le Brun’s immensely talented work both as a an artist as well as a memoirist. Her extraordinary appeal as a portraitist, mainly due to a highly individual style, was marked by the use of pigments in a creamy, sensuous and brilliant manner, which were similar to the styles of Rubens and Van Dyke at their most informal and spontaneous. Le Brun’s unique style consisted of an “appealingly eclectic combination of neoclassicism and pre-romanticism” (Winn & Kuizenga, 1997: 156). Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun’s Portrait of a Young Woman (Vigee Le Brun Gallery, b) As seen in the above painting, Le Brun normally represented the subjects of her portraits “in natural, relaxed, informal, intimate attitudes” (Winn & Kuizenga, 1997: 156), facing the beholder with a calm, self-absorbed, reflective gaze, with sometimes a trace of sentimentality. The manner in which the artist posed her sitters, and draped them in light robes or free-flowing garments added significant touches of classicism to the portrait composition. A pre-Romantic atmosphere is suggested in backgrounds consisting of landscapes with cloud-streaked skies, mountains, and waterfalls. This genteel classicism, highlighted by a flowing, smooth elegance, in combination with Vigee Le Brun’s tendency to idealize her female sitters by presenting them in flattering attitudes and costumes, remained misunderstood until the late twentieth century aesthetic sensibility permitted the public to view her art more sympathetically. Though it was a period of political upheavals and transformations, Le Brun remained firmly loyal to the monarchy and was steadfast in adhering to the principles of the Old Regime ideal of “classicizing beauty, sentimental gentility, and social civility” (Winn & Kuinzenga, 1997: 157). Vigee Le Brun’s ideals of happiness and harmony, of friendly and easy spontaneity with kindred souls, was at the root of her creativity. Between 1783 and 1789, the artist exhibited more than forty portraits at the biennial salon to which she had received admission in 1783. This was considered as an unique distinction for a woman. Le Brun avoided ideology and studied only those aesthetic trends which she could incorporate in her work (Winn & Kuizenga, 1991: 161). Conclusion This paper has highlighted eighteenth century paintings, and their defining theme of neoclassicism. The emulation by western artists of the classical ideals of ancient Greek and Roman cultures have been discussed. This great interest in classicism in the art and other aspects of that era in which radical changes were caused by the economic revolutions. The work of four artists of the eighteenth century who ardently believed in the classical ideals have been identified and discussed: Anton Raphael Mengs, Gavin Hamilton, Angelica Kauffman and Elisabeth Vijee Le Brun. The extent of incorporation of neoclassicism in the paintings is seen to differ, ranging from pure classical themes to the presentation of contemporary subjects in a classical style. However, the concept of perfect forms and the classical ideals of rationality, beauty, solidity, and harmony are found to underlie all the artists’ work, thus supporting Baudelaire’s assertion that eighteenth century art depicted “a form of perfection borrowed from a repertory of classical ideals” (Gardner et al, 2005: 862). References Allpaintings, (a), 2008. Anton Raphael Mengs: Augustus and Cleopatra. Allpaintings Art Portal. Available at: http://www.allpaintings.org/v/Neoclassicism/Anton+Raphael+Mengs/Anton+Raphael+Mengs+-+Augustus+and+Cleopatra.jpg.html Allpaintings, (b), 2008. Anton Raphael Mengs: Allegoria del Museo Clementino. Allpaintings Art Portal. Available at: http://www.allpaintings.org/v/Neoclassicism/Anton+Raphael+Mengs/Anton+Raphael+Mengs+-+Allegoria+del+Museo+Clementino.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1 Carrier, D. 1996. High art: Charles Baudelaire and the origins of modernist painting. The United States of America: Penn State Press. Curl, J.S. 2005. The Egyptian revival: ancient Egypt as the inspiration for design motifs in the West. Great Britain: Routledge. Errington, L. 1978. Gavin Hamilton’s sentimental Iliad. The Burlington Magazine, 120 (898): 11-13. Gardner, H., Kleiner, F.S. & Mamiya, C.J. 2005. Gardner’s art through the ages. United Kingdom: Thomson Learning. Getty (The Getty Museum). 2008. Artists: Anton Raphael Mengs. The J. Paul Getty Trust. Available at: http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=17952 Harrison, C., Wood, P. & Gaiger, J. 2000. Art in theory 1648-1815: an anthology of changing ideas. The United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishers. Metmuseum (Metropolitan Museum of Art). 2008. Neoclassicism. Timeline of Art History. Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/HD/neoc_1/hd_neoc_1.htm Myrone, M. 2005. Bodybuilding: reforming masculinities in British art 1750-1810. The United States of America: Yale University Press. Spadafora, D. 1990. The idea of progress in eighteenth century Britain. The United Kingdom: Yale University Press. Larsen, A.R. & Winn, C.H. 2000. Writings by pre-revolutionary French women. New York: Garland Publishing Inc. Vijee Le Brun Gallery a. Self-portrait with child. Available at: http://www.batguano.com/VLB3.jpg Vijee Le Brun Gallery b. Portrait of a young woman. Available at: http://www.batguano.com/julielebrun.jpg VMFA (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts). 2008. Our collections: European sculpture, paintings and works on paper. Available at: http://www.vmfa.state.va.us/collections/75_22.html Winn, C.H. & Kuizenga, D. 1997. Women writers in pre-revolutionary France: strategies in emancipation. United Kingdom: Taylor and Francis. Walch, P.S. 1967. Charles Rollin and early neoclassicism. The Art Bulletin, 49 (2): 123-126. Walther, I.F., Suckale, R. & Wundram, M. 2002. Masterpieces of western art: a history of art in 900 individual studies. Bonn: Taschen. Read More