Marika Bournaki

January 29th, 2010

Jacques-Louis David and Neo-classicism

After the Baroque Era, we saw a lighter, more frivolous kind of art which is

referred to as rococo. Rococo paintings were simpler, with more light and often

set in nature. The characters had fair skin and looked like little porcelain dolls.

The art looked less “important” and less “self-righteous” than during the Baroque

period.

Rococo was charming, but was also highly criticized for the light and rather

unimportant subject matters. When I think of the paintings we saw in class like

“Marie-Antoinette with a Rose” by Louise-Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun, you can see in

the style of the dress (the low-cut) and her holding the rose in a rather seductive

manner that it almost teases. It feels imaginary, like Watteau’s “Pilgrimage to

Cythera” (a utopian scene from his imagination). The images seem to come out

of fairytales. They don’t show the ugliness and the harshness of real life.

The answer to this kind of art was the rise of Neo-Classicism. This period in art is

the second revival of interest in Greco-Roman ideals (the first being the

Renaissance). These ideals appear in the style of architecture (architecture

within paintings also like the use of columns, circular rooms), but also of Greek

and Roman physical attributes, Greek and Roman important figures

(philosophers, thinkers, warriors, Gods, Muses), Greek and Roman mythology

and stories, etc. The subject matter is therefore more serious, about morality,

right and wrong. There is also a feeling of having to think about these works; that
there is more than meets the eye, something more than a story or beautiful

things painted on a canvas.

One of the greatest Neo-Classical painters is Jacques-Louis David. We looked in

class at paintings by Angelica Kauffman, as she is also part of this Neo-Classical

era; but her work seemed more transitional. There were elements of both rococo

and Neo-Classicism. JL David’s work, on the other hand, is purely Neo-Classical.

The themes of his paintings are highly moral: I think of the “Oath of Horatii”, the

“Death of Socrates”, and the “Death of Marat”. The first deals with a Roman

story, the second with the death of the great Greek philosopher Socrates, and

the third, with politics and revolution, all pretty important and heavy themes.

The “Oath of Horatii” tells the story of the 3 Horatii brothers and their father,

taking an oath to honor their family and the city of Rome, as they engage a duel

against the 3 Curiatii brothers. The painting shows them in the act of the Roman

Salute, raising their swords and promising they will not come back without

accomplishing their duty. I think what is interesting is that everything is in groups

of 3s: the colors (red, white and blue, the colors of France), the 3 brothers, the 3

women crying on the right, the 3 columns in the background… I think the

importance of the number 3 comes from Christianity so I think it’s interesting how

he ties France with Ancient Rome and Christianity. This painting was created a

few years before the French Revolution, so it was probably meant to deliver a

message: perhaps to be loyal to the state of France?

In the “Death of Socrates”, there is once again a reference to Christianity, as

Socrates is pictured looking a lot like Jesus, with 12 other figures probably
representing the 12 disciples. What I like is the composition and the movement,

and that it looks like a frozen frame from the on-going action.

In general, Neo-Classical paintings seem to depict things in a rather idealistic

way. That is the case with David’s rendition of the “Death of Marat”. Marat was

stabbed at his home, in his bath. He was known to have a very bad skin disease

and the only relief he could find was while soaking in a hot bath. He is painted

without any trace of a disease; with a very small wound (he was stabbed) without

his murderer. The scene looks very peaceful and treats Marat as a martyr of the

French Revolution (looking a lot like Christian martyrs). His body seems to be

surrounded with a light, looking as though he is holy.

All these characteristics make Jacques-Louis David a Neo-Classical artist.

Without a doubt, they are very beautiful and insightful and inspire thought and

wonder.