Neoclassicism and Revolution in France
Neoclassical Painting: Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825)
Most influential artist of the French Revolution era.
Self-portrait of 1794.
Neoclassical Art and Jacques-Louis David
David traveled to Rome to study and abandoned Rococo style in favor of Classical Art.
The excavation of Pompeii in the 1700s revives interest in Classicism.
David capitalizes on this renewed popularity.
David is the master of Neoclassicism, succeeding Poussin in influence.
He utilizes formal balance and simplicity, moving away from complex Baroque compositional forms.
He emphasizes clarity and integrity of form, and significant emotional complexity, rejecting Rococo frivolity.
Like Poussin, his figures possess a sculptural presence, and his colors are pure.
Neoclassical Art associates itself with Classical Antiquity, particularly the austerity and virtue of the Roman Republic.
Jacques-Louis David, The Oath of the Horatii, 1784-1785
Oil on canvas, dimensions: 10’ 10” by 13’ 11 ½”.
Had a great influence on the public.
Exemplum Virtutis: A classical scene embodying a moral lesson, teaching heroic, classical virtues.
Stylistically, the painting employs a clear, simple organization of forms, set in ancient Rome.
Presents the scene in a frieze-like linear composition.
The orderly presentation of the men contrasts with the seated, soft, emotional presentation of the women.
Utilizes a rectangular space composed of clear horizontal and vertical planes.
Jacques-Louis David, The Oath of the Horatii, 1784-1785
Dimensions: 10′ 8″ x 14′ 2″.
Jacques-Louis David, Old Horatius Defending his Son, 1781
Jacques-Louis David, Death of Socrates, 1787
Oil on canvas, dimensions: 4′ 3″ x 6′ 5 ¼”.
Jacques-Louis David, The Lictors Returning to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons, 1789
Dimensions: 10’ 7 1/4" x 13’ 10 1/4".
Comparison to Raphael's School of Athens, referencing classical ideals and composition.
Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun
Queen Marie Antoinette and Her Children, 1787. Oil on canvas, 9’ x 7’
The Marquise de Pezay and the Marquise de Rouge with her sons, 1787. Oil on canvas, 4’ x 5.1’
The French Revolution
The convening of the Estates General on May 5, 1789, signaled desperation over governmental debt; the first such convening in 175 years.
The Three Estates represented all citizens of France:
1st Estate: clergy, 0.5% of the population, 15% of lands.
2nd Estate: nobility, 2% of the population, 30% of lands.
3rd Estate: everyone else (about 23 million people).
Jacques-Louis David, The Tennis Court Oath, 1789-91
Pen and brown wash on paper, dimensions: 2’ 2” x 3’ 6”.
The Beginnings of Revolution
The 3rd Estate withdrew from the Estates General and declared a National Assembly, inviting the other two Estates to join.
On June 20, 1789, the National Assembly swore never to disband until France had a constitution.
David’s the Tennis Court Oath sketch was intended to become a monumental, historical painting, although it was never completed.
Many of those present at the Tennis Court Oath were later executed by Robespierre’s Jacobins.
June 27, 1789 – Louis XVI ordered noble and clerical deputies to join the National Assembly, though they had refused before.
July 14, 1789 – militia joined by a mob stormed the Bastille prison in Paris.
August 4, 1789 – Throughout France, peasants attacked local nobles to abolish feudal obligations, reclaim lands, and seize food in an occurrence called the Great Fear.
October 5, 1789 – 7,000 Parisian women marched on the palace at Versailles, resulting in the capture of the royal family.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
Passed by the National Assembly, August 26, 1789.
Influenced by Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and writings of John Locke.
Followed by a constitution, which converted France into a constitutional monarchy.
Terror Begins
After the royal family attempted to flee, the Jacobins, a group of revolutionary extremists, advocated eliminating the monarchy.
On August 9, 1792, the Jacobins seized Paris.
In the ensuing weeks, more than 1,000 aristocrats were sentenced to death during the September Massacres.
The Reign of Terror
Led by the Jacobin extremist Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794).
David was a Jacobin and was elected to the National Convention. He voted to send King Louis XVI to the guillotine.
At least 25,000 French citizens were executed. Others spent years imprisoned, many dying there as well.
Royalists and moderate republicans were executed.
King Louis XVI was executed January 21, 1793; Marie Antoinette 10 months later.
Louis XVI’s son, the heir to the throne, died at age 10 in 1795 while imprisoned.
Radical Changes
Slavery was banned in all French colonies.
The nation was de-Christianized, with churches becoming “Temples of Reason.”
The calendar was based on the founding of the Republic.
Months were renamed for the seasons.
The idea of a Sabbath was eliminated, though every tenth day was to be a holiday.
Jacques-Louis David’s Sketch of Marie Antoinette
Going to face the guillotine.
Place de la Concorde, Paris
Completed in 1772.
Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Marat, 1793
Oil on canvas.
Commemorates the assassination of Jean Paul Marat, a Jacobin hero and editor of “The Friend of the People.”
Marat was fatally stabbed by Charlotte Corday, a royalist who believed she was the new Joan of Arc.
The Reign of Terror Ends
The Reign of Terror ended with the execution of Robespierre himself in 1794, along with 21 other radicals.
David narrowly escaped execution, was imprisoned, and later regained favor under Napoleon.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte came to power through a coup d’etat in 1799.
France was warring with much of Europe.
Recognizing the need for order, Napoleon established a strong executive arm, basing it on classic, Roman precedents.
Napoleon declared himself the First Consul of the French Republic.
Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps, 1800-1801
Oil on canvas, dimensions: 8’ 11” by 7’ 7”.
Military Supremacy and Political Power
Napoleon moved to establish stability across Europe.
He subdued nearly the entire European continent, except Britain, Sweden, and Portugal.
Napoleon defeated Marie Antoinette’s nephew, Francis II, who dissolved the Holy Roman Empire and established the Austrian Empire.
Napoleon declared himself Consul for life, then declared himself emperor, leading to the counter-revolution.
Europe in 1812
Corsica and Sardinia (now Italian).
Jacques-Louis David, The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon and the Coronation of Empress Joséphine on December 2, 1804, 1806-1807
Dimensions: 20’ x 32’ 1.4”.
The End of David
David remained loyal to Napoleon to the end and left France when Napoleon was defeated.
He rejected a pardon and went into self-exile in Brussels.
David died at 75 from injuries after being struck by a carriage.
He was refused burial in France for having voted for the execution of King Louis XVI; his body lies in Brussels, but his heart was sent to Paris for burial.
Arc de Triomphe, Paris, 1806-1836
160’ tall, 148’ long, and 72’ wide.
Modeled after the Arch of Titus, post 81 CE, Rome.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Napoleon I on the Imperial Throne, 1806
Oil on canvas, dimensions: 8’ 6” by approx. 5’ 4”.
Creating Identification for Napoleon
The portraits by David and Ingres carefully present Napoleon as he wished to be known.
Associations of Napoleon with Mars, Jupiter, and Charlemagne are consciously present.
Napoleon utilized Neoclassical and Romantic components to create his public persona.
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, La Grande Odalisque, 1814
Oil on canvas.