Jacques Louis Davids and Edouard Manets paintings - Essay Example

Art History Jacques Louis David’s The Death of Socrates In this oil on canvas painting, David shows Socrates (469-399 B.C.E) prepared to die and calmly talking to his grief-stricken disciples about the soul’s immortality. Prior to this, the Athenian government had accused Socrates of delivering corrupting teachings to the young and denying the gods. He had then been offered two choices; dying by taking hemlock in a cup or renouncing his beliefs. The 1787 painting with a stoic theme portrays the moments that followed upon Socrates’ choice of the former option. It is believed, perhaps, to be David’s best Neo-classical statement. The publisher and printmaker John Boydell wrote Sir Joshua Reynolds about the painting; "…the greatest effort of art since the Sistine Chapel and the stanze of Raphael. . . . This work would have done honor to Athens at the time of Pericles." The subject of the painting loosely bases on Plato’s Phaedo. In painting it though, David consulted various sources. These include the 1758 monograph by Diderot on dramatic poetry and the poetry works of Andre Chenier. A pose by a figure at the bed’s foot on the painting is believed to have been inspired by passages in a book by English writer Richardson. The painting is well composed with various forms contributing to the unity therein. A visual foundation is provided by the dominating darkness, giving contrast to lighter figures. The few rich and light colors spread out with ease against the dark. A shallow stage provides the background, with activity being confined in a narrow space that is contained and unified by the wall at the back creating severely bounding space. The chromatic color used is predominantly warm, with cool colors being subdued, appearing almost grey. A horizontal rectangle bounds all the action, with figures fitting within the contained space. Continuities and lighting along the figure to the left up to Socrates’ arm create a flat, wide pyramid that presents a unified mass in a stable compositional form. David’s painting also possesses variety and dynamism as contributed by various forms. The major visual contrast is provided by intense light areas that draw strength from the image being dark overall. In particular Socrates robe and flesh are well illuminated, giving a high value of contrast with the surrounding. The other people in the painting have varied expressions and gestures. Socrates on the other hand is confident bold and unafraid apart from being lightened, active and facing the observer. He is the only one facing the observer as he is facing death. On the right there is illuminated action that balances with the deep-space area on the painting’s left. The shallow but illuminated and active right side is offset by the deep dark area. The painting’s principle organization is hinged on the placement of Socrates’ figure that acts as the main focal point. He is placed near the center with the group surrounding his well-illuminated figure in a balanced manner, contributing to the graphic emphasis. The graphic prominence is further enhanced by the other men in the painting facing and pointing attention toward Socrates. These aspects direct the viewers’ eyes toward the main figure. The background-wall presents a spot-light effect which leads toward Socrates. David’s painting employs the Roman and Greek subject matter. It shows the ancient Republic virtue of holding the state with importance over anything else, even as basic as family. On classical antiquity, David appears to glorify paganism. He visually communicates his political belief, particularly his desire to limit powers the Catholic Church has. The painting comes alive to viewers because it includes an accurate depiction of ancient Roman and Greek artifacts. The details of small objects like cups and stools accurately depict the ancient life. Edouard Manet’s The Dead Christ with Angels (1864 Gallery 810) The first among several of religious themed paintings by Edouard Manet (1832-1883), The Dead Christ with Angels is an oil on canvas painting depicting Christ’s cadaverous body with two angels in the tomb. The painting is enshrouded in controversies arising from the misleading inscription which indicates the source, yet the passage Manet cites describes Mary Magdalene getting to an empty tomb with two angels (Sheppard, 1981). During the advanced stages of his work, Manet realized even greater departures from the describing text; he had depicted the wound inflicted on Christ not on the right side. He did not correct this mistake despite the advice by critics against failing to correct the same. Emile Zola however, felt that the intention was to stress on the reality of Christ’s corpse, even with the halo included to symbolize its holiness. Manet conflates the genres of costume and history in this painting, giving it the aspect of strong disruptiveness using a fancy stage and dress. The painting has an unapologetic allusion to it that, the use of several layers of costume and the fabric construction attract a closer look. The wing passing on the painting’s far left presents an elusiveness that suggest it to be a garment due to the extravagancy with which they appear (Crow, 1985). The flamboyancy of the blue wings, which is as a result of their brightness that creates discordance with the morbid appearance of the scene, also adds to the suggestion that they serve as costume. On the composition’s left-hand side, the angel’s wings are moody-grey. Details of the angel’s wing’s backside are only hinted and not completely made clear. The volume and shape of the wing are cleverly placed grey shades that appear as feathers from a distance. These abbreviated small passages foil the believability of the illusionary program in the painting. The paint’s interrupted illusionism takes away the three-dimensionality authority of the canvas. The duplicitous and teasing way in which paint is laid on canvas does not allow for an uncomplicated artifice acceptance. It is hard to ignore the painting’s blunt theatricality given the angel’s brazenly colored wings and the shamelessly smeared makeup. The viewer painfully made aware of the stage and the costumes. The model’s defining characteristics; boredom, deadness and makeup are faithfully portrayed to give a profoundly discomforting mood as viewers find themselves increasingly removed from the bi0blical narrative of the scene. The theatrical elements of costume and stage, which should coerce viewers into illusionary space appear too nakedly painted and palpable to elicit the disbelief suspense. Their true colors are visible and their edges can be felt. The painting is conscious about its own artifice, Manet provocatively renders his subject. He focuses more on the illusionism mechanics rather than on the illusion itself (by blatant use of staging and costumes), putting his diegetic act in the painting at odds with the bible (Driskel, 1992). He realistically renders the painting’s figures which inhibits viewers from seeing a purely biblical narrative. The illusions therein are botched; paint blobs and visible brushstrokes which dare bring out forms. Given the idiosyncrasies Manet employs in laying paint on the canvas, any verisimilitude in rendering Jesus and the angels presents them as a corpse and models, and not as the characters that they are in the original biblical narrative in the book of John Bibliography Crow, T. E. (1985). Painters and Public Life in Eighteenth-Century Paris. New Haven: Yale University Press. Driskel, M. Paul. (1992). Representing Belief: Religion, Art, and Society in Nineteenth Century France. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press Driskel, M. P. (1985). “Manet, Naturalism, and the Politics of Christian Art.” Arts Magazine 60. Édouard Manet: The Dead Christ with Angels" (29.100.51) In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. Retrieved on 9th November 2014 from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/29.100.51 Hamilton, G. H., Sumner, M. (1954). Manet and His Critics. New Haven: Yale University Press. Sheppard, J. M. (1981). “The Inscription in Manet’s The Dead Christ, with Angels,” Metropolitan Museum Journal16: P. 199-200. The Metropolitan Museum University. The Collection Online: The death of Socrates. Retrieved on 9th November 2014 from http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/436105 Read More