Classical Blog - Revolutionary Art

I wanted to focus on the Revolution  and Art of the Classical Era.  The history of Napoleon in Europe with his short lived victory that are a huge part of the French Revolution.  Many artists find inspiration in the revolutionary period of the 18th and 19th Century from the French Revolution and the American Revolution.   

Death of Socrates  Painted by Jacques Louis David, Oil on Canvas 1787


David wanted to create his image of Socrates from the story, Phaedo, and also the use of David's study from other archeologists.  

The history behind Socrates chosen suicide rather than be killed showed his unwillingness to be put down by authority in his era to prove injustice or rather not fall to the unjust authority who were on his heel to take him to his death.  This depiction gives us a view of virtuous behavior captured very well by the artist. 

This work of art created by David directly after the French Revolution leading into the American Revolution goes to reflect his use of the Neoclassical style pulling away from the Rococo style painting. It was said that he was a supporter of the French Revolution until he was imprisoned and than let go. After his support with the French Revolution, he became aligned with Napoleon I.  Jacques Louis David became the strongest influence of the French Revolution art for his time. His use of the classical themes to help tie in the moral message he believed in is captured beautifully in this Neoclassical style painting. 



The Death of General Wolfe, Painted by Benjamin West, Oil on Canvas 1770



Benjamin West was an American born artist who learned his skill over sees in Europe, where he became known as a teacher of the arts during this period.  West used his Neoclassical style painting to create a rather much in the moment paintings versus paintings of history or the Biblical stories. 

Benjamin West became known for his change in history paintings.  Many were painting stories of battles or stories of victories, of victors, and of great endeavors.  West chose to show a "near-contemporary event" that had happened in the very recent past. His use of the then time, modern contemporary clothing and attire had struck his audience with a sense of realism.  The political upheaval in the Americas and the huge victory against the European throne and strong hold leads to many artists inspiration to neoclassical works. 


The Sorrow of Telemachus, Painting by Angelica Kauffman, Oil on Canvas 1783


Angelica Kauffman was known for her historical paintings. She first started her historical paintings in Britain but due to the high held status of historical paintings and male artists, she was not fully accepted as a historical painter there.  She later moved to Rome where she was more accepted and saw her work in historical paintings succeed. She was one of two female artists who founded the British Royal Academy in 1768.

The Sorrow of Telemachus, was a historical depiction from the French Novel, The Adventures of Telemachus, where Telemachus was shipwrecked on Calypsos island. You see Telemachus who is clearly distressed and the woman tells the singers to stop singing Odysseus praises due to his distress.



The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, Painted by John Singleton Copley, Oil on Canvas 1791

Through the Enlightenment period, grew the idea of separation from church and state and also that American Revolution was highly encouraged by this period.  The Declaration of Independence was a document that had stemmed from the ideas of the Enlightenment movement. 

John Copley was an American born artist who was paid by London to create a work of art depicting British soldiers defeating Spain and France. This Neoclassical style painting also is of near historical events showing more recent event in history. This use of "near-contemporary event" such as shown in The Death of General Wolfe also appeals to its audiences during the Revolutionary era in early 1780s.

Resources:

History.com Editors. “Enlightenment.” HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 29 Aug. 2018, www.history.com/topics/british-history/enlightenment.

‌Metmuseum.org, 2019, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436105.

‌West, Benjamin. “Benjamin West, the Death of General Wolfe.” Khan Academy, 2016, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/british-colonies/colonial-period/a/benjamin-wests-the-death-of-general-wolfe.

“Jacques Louis David - the Complete Works - Jacqueslouisdavid.org.” Www.jacqueslouisdavid.org, www.jacqueslouisdavid.org/.

“The Sorrow of Telemachus.” Wikipedia, 6 Nov. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorrow_of_Telemachus. Accessed 16 Mar. 2021.

“The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, September 1782.” Wikipedia, 24 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Defeat_of_the_Floating_Batteries_at_Gibraltar. Accessed 16 Mar. 2021.

‌

‌

‌

‌

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First Blog Post Introduction

Image
 Hello,      My name is Heather Kangas. I live here in Fairbanks, Alaska and am attending college for my degree as a Physicians Assistant. I am currently a junior this semester, and am attending part time.  I have a long history working in the health field and wish to continue. I am currently a Certified Medical Assistant working part time also, along with raising my three children.  We love to fish, hunt, camp, and gather for subsistence lifestyle.   http://www.gustavklimt.net/the-kiss/ I am not a huge art person, my strengths lie with things more like math and science. I did take a ceramics course back in high school once, which I really enjoyed.  During our Anatomy and Physiology class back in high school and college, we were required to draw or sketch alot of our anatomy learning, which I enjoyed very much as well. I do not own any art pieces my self, we do more of our home decor with pictures of our adventures here in Alaska. I have not really attended any First Fridays or attend
Read more

Art Elements

Image
 I chose the art piece done by Dennis Wojkiewicz, Rosettes Series #16. His work is oil painting on canvas. There is not set date or year that he created this work that I could find. He had created most of his work between the years 1978-1983. I was chosen to this picture by the attention to detail, the visual appeal of how realistic is looks, and because I love Grapefruit.  When I first came across this painting, I thought it was a picture that captured the perfect lighting. This image, I feel, leaves one feeling in awe, almost very surprised. This work of art seems very refreshing or could be part of a picture to a commercial to a refreshing grapefruit beverage. I find that the very realistic aspect to the photo is very eye catching once you realize that this is a painting and not a picture.  There is not much of a backstory or a reason why I chose this art, other than that it has really popped out to me. The only way I can relate to the painting, is that my favorite fruit to enjoy is
Read more

Baroque Art

Image
 I have chosen a work done by Judith Leyster, her work of Two Children with a Cat. She created this piece of art with oil on canvas back in 1629. She was a Dutch painter from 1609-1660. Web Gallery of Art, searchable fine arts image database (wga.hu) Judith Leyster created a work that shows motion or a moment in time that shows an illusion of motion.  It looks as though this piece of work can come to life any moment, almost as though you can hear the children laughing a playing. The Renaissance period showed works of art that portrayed naturalism and harmony, her work has a heightened realism.   Leyster uses dramatic changes in color in this painting, shades from very dark to bright highlights.  This use of dramatic changes really catches the eye of viewers, including mine. This characteristic of being overly exaggerated with darks and lights is another character of the Baroque period. I can appreciate the deep rich colors expressed in this painting, especially the bright red cap to th
Read more