Jameson Rowley
Paris: City ofArt
Dr. Richard Putney
May 1, 2012
Paris: City ofArt ResearchPaper
In the year 1784, French artist Jacques – Louis David painted one of his most famous masterpieces of all time: Oath of the Horatii. Oil on canvas work Oath of the Horatii, which was created in Rome, and is now kept at the Louvre Museum in Paris, had a nearly identical copy made of it a few years after its creation in 1786 which now belongs to the Toledo Museum of Art’s collection. As for the original version David was commissioned to create it by French King Louis XVI’s minister of culture, and it was meant to represent loyalty to the state. The painting was so popular a few years later the TMA’s version was created after David was approached by a private commissioner comte de Vaudreuil, a high ranking coutier to paint a nearly identical reduced replica copy. After the French Revolution broke out a few years later Oath of the Horatii became a highly regarded piece of art to the revolutionaries of France at that time. For the remaining portion of this paper I will solely dedicate me discussion to the life of Jacques – Louis David, and his original version of Oath of the Horatii (1784). For organizational, and clarification purposes this will be the case.
Jacques – Louis David was born on August 30, 1784 and lived until December 29, 1825. He was born into a wealthy family that lived inParis, and was raised by his mother and father. When he reached the age of nine his father was killed in a dual, and his mother decided to leave him to his wealthy and successful architect uncles. He attended the College des Quatre – Nations located inParisnear theSeineRiver, and across from theLouvreMuseum, and there he received an excellent education. Although the school was very well respected he never seemed to do well there. He had a tumor on his face which gave him a speech impediment, and he was always distracted during class, because he would rather draw than listen to his professors speak.
Although he came from a family with an architectural background Jacques – Louis David always dreamed of becoming a painter. Despite disagreement from his uncle’s, David did decide to become a painter, and went on to study painting under his distant relative and Rococo painter, Francois Boucher. David was not typically impressed with the ways of Rococo art, and aspired to paint in a new form which is known today as Neo Classicism. Due to David’s disagreement in taste in painting with Boucher he sent him to his friend Joseph – Marie Vien so he could further his education in painting at theRoyalAcademybased in theLouvreMuseum.
Throughout his career, Jacques – Louis David tried to win the Prix de Rome, (the prize of Rome) but was unsuccessful on many occasions for years. The Prix de Rome was considered a high honor if won, and if won the winning painter would also receive a scholarship from the RoyalAcademy. Winning it would get an artist automatically into the RoyalAcademy, and would also allow him to submit any work into a salon without them having to be accepted by a jury. Although unsuccessful at first, after five tries David eventually won the Prix de Rome with his painting Loves of Antiochus and Stratonice (1775) and was therefore, allowed to attend theFrenchRoyalAcademy atRome.
While inRomeDavid was able to study new works of art that prior to going there he had not been exposed to. Of all the great art he became accustomed to Rafael stood out as his favorite. He was intrigued and inspired by Raphael’s painting and decided to emulate Raphael’s style of painting.
During his stay in Romeis when David completed his first version of Oath of the Horatii (1784). The content of the painting I believe can best be interpreted from a book I read in theUniversity ofToledo/ Toledo Museum of Art reference library at the Center for Visual Arts located next to the TMA. The quote comes from the book Art History Volume 1 and states:
[The story of the Horatii comes from the Roman histories of Livy, Plutarch, and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. It tells of three sons of Horatius, who were chosen as champions of Rometo fight the representatives of the neighboring kingdomof Alba, the Curatii. The two families were related by marriage – one of the Horatii was married to a sister of the Curatii, Sabina, and their only sister, Camillia, was betrothed to one of their opponents. The two sets of brothers nevertheless fought to the death, and only one amoung them survived, one of the Horatii; thus Rometriumphed. The story has a violent coda: the returning victor, finding his sister mourning her betrothed, kills her in patriotic rage. His father, however, defends him before the assembled people of Rome, and he is exonerated. There is no mistaking the theme of the story, that patriotism supersedes even family ties. David depicts Horatius presenting weapons to his sons and receiving in return their pledge to defeat the enemies of Romeor die in the attempt. The bloody and uncompromising character of this tale would seem out of character with the easy-going reign of King Louis XVI, but it is indeed difficult to see anything provocative in David’s choice of subject. It is taken from the legendary history of the Roman kingdom; the patriotic loyalty it speaks of is a very military loyalty to a monarchy. Corneille’s tragedy, Les Horaces, is based on the same material; thus it recalled the reign of Louis XIV, the golden age, everyone agreed, of French Classicism. The murder of the mourning Camillia was the subject given to the students of the Academy for the Prix de Rome competition of 1785. Taken by itself, the subject of David’s picture would seem to have thoroughly safe and unremarkable.]
This description of Oath of the Horatii provided provides thorough insight into both the content and meaning behind David’s famous work. Although it was not mentioned in the quote the setting of the painting takes place in an area that could possibly be enclosed. The father stands in the center of the canvas facing left holding three swords while starring off into the heavens. His three sons are facing their father standing side by side with one arm held out in the direction of Horatius in a wide stance pose. They are all dressed in their military attire and seem ready to go to battle with the Curatii brothers. One brother has his free hand wrapped around his other brother while he holds a spear with the hand that is not saluting his father. For me this shows their brotherly bond, their respect for their father, and their patriotism towardsRome. Three women and two small children sit behind Horatius on the right side of the painting. One of the women is tending to the two small children, comforting them in her arms. The other two women sit next to the children leaning towards each other with their head lightly resting on the others while weeping. The painting is naturally lit, and you can see rays of sunlight and shadows on the ground. The ground looks to be made of concrete blocks, and in the background stands three arches and two pillars. The father stands in between the pillars and the handles of the swords seem to be in the exact center of them. There is a diagonal line of what appears to be sunlight at the top of the arches that slants downward and to the right giving the painting structure and harmony.
Although David was very close to King Louis XVI and was granted permission to stay in the Louvre as one of his personal court painters. He would later participate in the French Revolution on the side opposing the monarchy. He would later be jailed for these actions, but saved from the Guillotine. When Napoleon became Emperor he quickly befriended David and used him as one of his own personal court painters as well. When Napoleon lost power ofFranceand the Bourbons were once again placed on the throne ofFrance, King Louis XVIII granted amnesty to David for his actions against the Bourbons and even asked him be one of his court painters. However, David declined and chose to be self exiled and went and lived out the rest of his days inBrusselswhere he would die in 1825.
The life of Jacques-Louis David can best be summed up as eventful, extraordinary, and masterful. His masterpiece Oath of the Horatii (1784) is a painting that stood at the top of French culture as an iconic piece to the French people. The legacy of Jacques-Louis David and his Oath of the Horatii (1784) painting will live on and continue to grow. The Louvre Museum and the Toledo Museum of Art are truly blessed to have their copies of the painting. Oath of the Horatii (1784) the painting that was so nice they had to make it twice.
Bibliography
Dr. Richard Putney. Classroom discussion. August 2011 – May 2012
Dr. Mysoon Rizk. Classroom discussion. August 2011 – May 2012
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-Louis_David
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_the_Horatii
Smart History http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/david-oath-of-the-horatii.html
LouvreMuseumParishttp://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/oath-horatii
NNDB http://www.nndb.com/people/797/000084545/
Neo Classicism and the French Revolution http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/his/CoreArt/art/neocl_dav_oath.html
Smart History. Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mawq5PKRB6k
Art History Volume 1 March 1978 T.M.A. Association of Art Historians.
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