Oath Of The Horaii By Jacques-Louis David

565 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What was the effect of the french revolution on european art

The French Revolution began with the Neoclassical period, where artists favored work that looked as realistic as possible and tried to minimize the appearance of brush strokes. After the brief Rococo period which featured more delicate and playful forms, artists were looking to return to more intellectual and traditional work. The Age of Enlightenment brought new recognition to ancient Greek and Roman art and architecture. This Neoclassical period called for realistic paintings with attention to drawing and line (Zygmont, n.d.). Figures have sharp, defined edges and subjects were commonly taken from ancient stories.
With the French Revolution happening, artist Jacques-Louis David drew on an event taking place more than 2500 years earlier in …show more content…

David may have been trying to relate portions of his work to the French Revolution; as you can see in the painting, brothers are going off and being celebrated by their families as they fight for freedom. However, it also depicts the tragedy of war and potential loss of life as the women cry in the corner, afraid that their loved ones might not return. The idea in Oath of the Horaii that personal sacrifices must be made for an ideal and better future is one that directly connected to the French Revolution.
Later, as the Romantic period began to rise, artists were showing an increased preference for color over line; they weren’t afraid to show paint strokes in their finished product, and drew more from the more watery and asymmetrical style from the Rococo period than
Neoclassical styles (Neo-classicism & The French Revolution, n.d.). The subject of art was also changing – rather than taking inspiration from classical themes, artists were increasingly looking to current political and world events. When thinking of the French Revolution, it's hard not to envision the work of Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People.
The painting was completed the same year as the July Revolution, which it

Show More
Related

  • The Guilt They Carried in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the aftermath of a comparatively minor misfortune, all parties concerned seem to be eager to direct the blame to someone or something else. It seems so easy to pin down one specific mistake that caused everything else to go wrong in an everyday situation. However, war is a vastly different story. War is ambiguous, an enormous and intangible event, and it cannot simply be blamed for the resulting deaths for which it is indirectly responsible. Tim O’Brien’s story, “In the Field,” illustrates whom the soldiers turn to with the massive burden of responsibility for a tragedy. The horrible circumstances of war transform all involved and tinge them with an absurd feeling of personal responsibility as they struggle to cope.

    Read More

  • How Rococo and Neoclassicism Illustrate the Process of Deciding in their Paintings

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    By paying attention to elements such as subject matter, light, form, and placement of figures, we can see how these enhance the ideals depicted by each form of art. As a result, we can understand how Neo-Classical art is an attempt to counter the values of Rococo. Rococo is a form of art directly targeted to the privileged. Because not everyone in society belongs to the aristocracy, the Neo-Classicist wanted to impose order as an alternative to the frivolous life style. As a result, we have to works of art that challenge each other’s ideals. The theme of infidelity versus loyalty and how one arrives at the decision made is animated in the works of Fragonard and David. However, it is important to note that there is no right or wrong form of art, although it may seem that this was the common perception of the time. In conclusion, both works of are similar in one important aspect; they are both works of art.

    Read More

  • Similarities And Differences Between The Things They Carried And The Yellow Wallpaper

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    After an event of large magnitude, it still began to take its toll on the protagonist as they often “carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die” during the war (O’Brien 1187). The travesties that occurred with the brutality of war did not subside and began to affect those involved in a deeply emotional way. The multitude of disastrous happenings influenced the narrator to develop a psychological handicap to death by being “afraid of dying” although being “even more afraid to show it” (O’Brien 1187). The burden caused by the war creates fear inside the protagonist’s mind, yet if he were to display his sense of distress it would cause a deeper fear for those around him, thus making the thought of exposing the fear even more frightening. The emotional battle taking place in the psyche of the narrator is directly repressed by the war.

    Read More

  • Visual Rhetorical Analysis

    1010 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... in a common effort that contributed to protest activities. The photograph also uses tension to portray the two conflicting ideologies. There is visible tension between the guardsmen and the protestors; the guns represent war and violence while the flowers represent peace, love and nature. The National Guardsmen also look very uneasy while the protestors look content and comfortable. The union of the two creates tension in this photograph because they are so meaningful alone, making this photograph a very iconic image of the time.

    Read More

  • Tomorrow When The War Began By John Marsden

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Tomorrow When The War Began” is a novel written by the author John Marsden which includes valuable lessons of resilience when hardships arise and courage over fear to save other lives. Two characters that portray these themes are Ellie and Robyn. Ellie overcomes the hardship of killing young soldiers and Robyn overcomes fear in order to save other lives, by putting her life at risk. John Marsden’s story emphasizes the life lessons which Ellie and Robyn have to experience to save their hometown of Wirrawee.

    Read More

  • Neoclassical And Impressionism: The Effects Of Modern Art

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before Impressionism came to be a major movement (around 1870-1800s), Neoclassical and Romanticism were still making their impacts. Remembering last week’s lesson, we know that both those styles were different in the fact that one was based on emotion, while the other was practical and serious. However, one thing they both shared was the fact that the artists were trying to get a message across; mostly having to do with the effects of the French Revolution, and/or being ordered to do so. With Impressionism, there is a clear difference from its predecessors.

    Read More

  • Art History Of Impressionism

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Italian Macchiaioli movement bore a striking resemblance to Impressionism. Artists employed macchie—quick, broad strokes—in their art. They blended light and shadow and, like the Impressionists, disobeyed many of the “rules” of art in the process. Telemaco Signorini, a notable artist in the movement, used these styles to achieve remarkable effects, and he too left quite an impression on Degas, who would later imitate Signorini’s styles in his own work.

    Read More

  • High Renaissance and Mannerism in Northern Europe and Spain

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the late sixteenth century a new style of art, known as Mannerist, emerged through out Italy as a result of the Protestant Reformation. Mannerist distorted art was justified because it served mid way between the ideal, natural, symmetrical and the real, artificial, and unbalanced. The religious and political upheaval lead to the distinct Mannerist style know for being stylish, cultured, and elegant. Mannerist art is thought provoking, asking the viewer to ponder and respond to the spatial challenges and meaning found in the painting, sculpture, and architectural work. Mannerist painting and sculpture are characterized by complicated compositions, distorted figure styles, and complex allegorical interpretations. Meanwhile Mannerist architecture often employs classical elements in a new and unusual way that defies traditional formulas.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Thomas Birch’s painting An American Ship in Distress

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...hese repeated vertical lines contrast firmly with a horizontal line that divides the canvas almost exactly in half. The background, upper portion of the canvas, seems unchanging and flat, whereas the foreground and middle ground of the painting have a lot of depth to them.

    Read More

  • French Baroque: Walls and Ceilings

    1404 Words  | 3 Pages

    The early French periods began in 1600, after the Louis XIII style, which became the transition period into the French Baroque. Royalty began to introduce workshops and supported the creative industries with funding, which centralized the arts under the reigning monarchy. However, progress was discouraged and deterred by foreign influences (Harwood, May, & Sherman, 2002). Henry IV encouraged marked strides in the arts by creating free workshops in the Louvre, and also provided apartments to these artists and craftsmen. Several periods will be overviewed over the course of this paper, particularly specifying the ceiling and wall finishes during the specific periods.

    Read More

  • The Trojan Women Analysis

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    The film The Trojan Women does not depict war as most films do, a grueling brawl on the war front between two forces, leaving men and widowed women in its blood-filled wake. This film goes beyond that typical portrayal of war to focus on the aspects of war that viewers are not used to seeing, the effects of war on the homeland. This film primarily centers on the impacts of war that those still at home must endure, left behind by their loved ones who trade life and limb for the safety of their country and family. The widows in this film must cope with multiple torments of war; losing a loved one to battle, leaving their old life behind, and battling the mental hardship that accompanies these tragic events. The film does not place the emphasis

    Read More

  • The impact of the French Revolution on Ballet

    2173 Words  | 5 Pages

    [5] "THE ROCOCO PERIOD, 1715-1800." Ballet History 4410: Chapter 6. University of Utah, n.d. Web.

    Read More

  • The French Revolution & Art

    2050 Words  | 5 Pages

    The French Revolution, indeed, changed the structure of economics and social sphere of the old regime, and also the ideology of that time. In the years that followed the Revolution, the always increasing senses of both freedom and individuality were evident, not only in French society, but also in art. As stated by Dowd, “leaders of the French Revolution consciously employed all forms of art to mobilize public sentiment in favor of the New France and French nationalism.” In between all the artistic areas, the art of painting had a special emphasis. After the Revolution, the French art academies and also schools were now less hierarchical and there was, now, more freedom of engaging into new themes, not being the apprentices so tied up to their masters footsteps, not being so forced to follow them.

    Read More

  • Gainsborough, A Story of a Painter and an Era

    1539 Words  | 4 Pages

    Up until this point in time, paintings were usually face shots or occasionally full body sho...

    Read More

  • Neoclassicism And Romanticism Analysis

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    Art transcends language, and provides a depiction of cultural ideologies, fashion, and ideals in a way texts from the time period can not. Rococo, Neoclassicism, and Romanticism were all indicators of a changing time in which economics, politics, and culture were altered. The transition between each gauges the severity of the change depending on how extremely each differs from its predecessor. While the most extreme occurred between the Rococo movement and the Neoclassical, the transition between the Neoclassicism and Romanticism signified a less severe but still influential change in society. A document from a citizen criticizing art during the time of both the Romantic movement and Neoclassical movement would aid in describing public opinion of the two, and the change in popularity dependent on the classes or perception of the time period. Another document from a commoner on nationalism may have also expanded the perspective of how nationalism was prominent during the time, and how this was reflected in art. All of the movements continue to influence modern art. Rococo inspires artists in depicting the wealth gap, Neoclassicism continues to be used in architecture especially relating to government buildings, and principles of Romanticism are still used in idealized landscape paintings or other imaginative

    Read More

More about Oath Of The Horaii By Jacques-Louis David

Open Document