Jean Joseph's 'Seigneur ! Voyez Ces Yeux'

The 18th and 19th centuries in Western art history was a time characterized by multiple overlapping and contrasting artistic movements and styles. Jean Joseph’s Tiallasson’s composition, “Seigneur! Voyez ces yeux” (Cleopatra Discovered by Rodogune to Have Poisoned the Nuptial Cup), has elements integral to both the Neoclassical and Romantic movements. Although these two styles, the stability of Neoclassism and the energy of Romanticism, seem opposed to each other, in this composition they work together to heighten the drama of the event depicted. The artist’s composition utilizes theatrical gesture, dramatic facial expression, and local color, to convey a sense of urgency and drama to the scene. However, he places the composition in a classical

This storyline was taken from a play produced by Pierre Corneille and utilizes theatrical elements in its composition that connect to both to the realms of Romanticism and drama. Tiallasson paints his figures with dramatic facial expressions, clarifying the action taking place. The figures have varied expressions, with Rodogune, in white, angry and accusative, while others look shocked, worried, or disgusted. In contrast to these strong, expressive emotions, Cleopatra’s face appears more warry and defensive, showcasing her as the guilty culprit. Gesture and motion are also used as pictorial narrative devices to further clarify. Rodogune simultaneously reaches towards the cup to prevent the man from drinking, while also pointing an accusative finger to Cleopatra, indicating that she is the one who has committed the treasonous deed. This finger, coupled with the eyelines of the figures, who are all looking at Cleopatra, confirm to the viewer what has just been revealed. Subsequent figures use their bodies to further showcase their emotions, covering their faces and clutching their chests in shock and despair. Amid this gesturing, Cleopatra is standing stationary. Her straight, vertical form contrasts with the other figures who are in the act of moving and reacting. This draws the viewer’s attention to

His figures in the foreground are organized in a linear composition, much like a Neoclassical painting. Yet, these figures are not static, like in many Neoclassical paintings, but are involved in a great push and pull of movement. Rodogune leans forward towards Cleopatra to stop the man from drinking the poison, while the figures next to Cleopatra lean away from her in disgust. This creates a rhetoric of accusation towards her and further implicates her as an outsider, who no one wants to be near except to expose her treason. These three figures who simultaneously move forward and back, also create a negative space that again serves to reveal the narrative. This U-shaped dip of negative space points towards the poisoned cup which is the key to understanding why Cleopatra is being implicated. The cup, in the lowest point of this parabola, is the focal point of the work, which is further heighted by Rodogune’s form. She is leaning towards the cup, her finger pointing to it and onwards to Cleopatra. This assists the viewer so that even if they don’t know the story automatically, they can assume through gesture and composition that the cup and Cleopatra are the offending subjects. In this way, the linear composition, read right to left shows the order of events as they occur. Tiallasson also utilizes the background to add further drama and reveals what may come next in the series of events. The