Classical Art Exhibit

 

King Lear Weeping over the Dead Body of Cordelia (c. 1786) by James Barry; James Barry, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Within my artworks chosen, I want to discuss the elements related to the Revolution occurring during this time. First, is an artwork by James Berry, titled "King Lear Weeping over the Dead Body of Cordelia". This piece of artwork stood out to me because of the emotion that was depicted. There are men surrounding her body weeping and grieving for her death. The light colors used on her compared to the darker colors used everywhere else makes your eyes drawn to her, making you not even notice the other woman lying on the ground below her. Also, the artist made a point to give you a view behind the crowd of grieving men, to look up the hill at the continuing battle. I love how this shows that just because one person dies, a person of importance to others, doesn't mean the battle stands at a halt for them to grieve. If you notice King Lear to the right of the piece, he almost looks out of place. As stated on Art in Context, Barry painted him in a different more renaissance style technique to make him look as if he is almost not a part of this classical era moment. ("Famous Neoclassical Paintings - Looking At The Best Neoclassical Style Art")


The Death of General Wolfe (1770) by Benjamin West; Benjamin West, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons


Next, is the "Death of General Wolfe" by Benjamin West. This piece by West, similar to the one above shows a lot of emotion regarding death in the middle of a war. This piece is to depict the Battle of Quebec, the moment of General Wolfe's death. ("Famous Neoclassical Paintings - Looking At The Best Neoclassical Style Art"). This piece stuck out to me when I was researching because of the similar style of highlighting the main focus on the piece. There is a break in the clouds that almost is made to create this focus of light on General Wolfe. His bright red coat and white undershirt brighten up the center of this piece, which also accentuates the darkness surrounding this moment. 


Oath of the Horatii (1786) by Jacques-Louis David; Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons


This last piece I want to share is one by Jacques-Louis David, called the Oath of the Horatii. This artist made a lot of his most famous pieces during the French revolution and was also a part of the Jacobin Political group in 1789. ("Neoclassical Art - A Return To Symmetry In The Neoclassical Period"). The backdrop of this piece really stands out to me because of the darkness it encapsulates. David did a great job at making the people the main focus of this piece. With minimal distractions elsewhere in the piece, our main focus is on men in the center of the piece. Again, I noticed in this piece a lighted focal point in the center. Using the color red is also prevalent within the three photos, all seeming to be where your eyes are drawn to. This piece is also interesting in his use of 3. There are three soldiers, three swords, three arches, and three mourning women. This use of three throughout the piece was the one element that really stuck out to me, so I decided to look into the symbolism behind the number, according to the Book of Threes, the number is wholeness and symbolized the whole being. The whole being body, mind, and spirit or beginning, middle, and end ("The Symbolism and Spiritual Significance of The Number Three").  The soldiers in this painting are brothers and this image to me is the beginning of the end of their story. 




References: 

 "Famous Neoclassical Paintings - Looking At The Best Neoclassical Style Art". Artincontext.Org, 2021, https://artincontext.org/famous-neoclassical-paintings/.

"Neoclassical Art - A Return To Symmetry In The Neoclassical Period". Artincontext.Org, 2021, https://artincontext.org/neoclassical-art/.

The Symbolism And Spiritual Significance Of The Number Three". The Book Of Threes, 2020, https://www.bookofthrees.com/the-symbolism-and-spiritual-significance-of-the-number-three/.


Comments

  1. NelsonMarch 17, 2022 at 5:28 PM

    I really liked all the paintings you chose; they were all so dramatic and somber. I liked Jacques-Louis David painting that you talked about. I read that he was considered the father of neoclassical art so it's understandable how most of his famous paintings were done in the neoclassical movement. Although the first painting you talked about is my favorite. I feel like there’s so many different elements, with a war in the background, a dead body no one noticed, and another dead body crowded by grieving men.

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  2. Ashley ChavisMarch 17, 2022 at 5:57 PM

    I looked at the first piece in your exhibit and studied it for a moment, then I started reading your assessment of the piece. I got to the part where your describing how the contrast of coloring on the woman makes you not even notice there is a body right below her and I immediately checked the painting, because I hadn't noticed the bodies on the ground below them. It's so interesting to me how coloring can be used to draw the eye and hold it there, strategically taking the attention away from other major details in the painting.

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  3. Timothy ONeillMarch 17, 2022 at 11:21 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Timothy ONeillMarch 17, 2022 at 11:52 PM

    As I look over these paintings, the first thing that comes to my mind is hero worship. In all three of these paintings, a single individual is the primary focus. This makes me think you could have easily tied this to the theme of morality as well. Cordelia's death signifies King Lear's final bit of happiness being expunged, General Wolfe succeeded in defending his position at the loss of his life and Horatii trains the three men who will fight for the future of their city-state. After you had mentioned how each painter used light and color to highlight and draw our focus to those individuals I had to know more about the setting. Each of these paintings is amazing to look at and a great choice to represent the period. It is still a shock to see how even though each painting's setting is vastly different from the others, the common theme of war and loss can be seen in all.

    I also loved seeing the difference in reliance on antiquity between The Death of General Wolfe and the other two paintings. While all three have set their stories on a single horizontal line, The Death of General Wolfe has broken away from many of the antiquity references compared to the other two. Oath of Horatii and King Lear Weeping over the Dead Body of Cordelia rely heavily on antiquity's form, attire, and even setting while The Death of General Wolfe relies on the times modern day garb, hairstyles, and location as well.

    Ltd, White. "King Lear Weeping Over The Dead Body Of Cordelia | An Introduction To 19Th Century Art". 19Thcenturyart-Facos.Com, 2022, https://www.19thcenturyart-facos.com/artwork/king-lear-weeping-over-dead-body-cordelia.


    "The Death Of General Wolfe - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_General_Wolfe.


    "Oath Of The Horatii - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_the_Horatii.

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