Jean Louis David artist biography. French Academy in Rome
On the eve of the harsh events of the French Revolution and during the revolution itself, the art of France was captured by a new wave of classicism. It was quite clear to the advanced thinking part of France during these years that the Bourbon monarchy was finally falling apart. The new demands of life gave rise to the need for a new art, a new language, and new means of expression. Passion for ancient culture coincided with the most urgent requirements of heroic, highly civic art, creating images worthy of imitation. Classicism manifested itself in all areas of fine art - in architecture, painting, sculpture.
The most striking influence of classicism had on painting. Again in art the role of reason is put forward as the main criterion in the cognition of the beautiful, again art is called upon, first of all, to cultivate a sense of duty, citizenship, to serve the ideas of statehood, and not to be fun and enjoyment. Only now, on the eve of the revolution, is this demand becoming more specific, purposeful, purposeful.
On the eve of the French Revolution, a very bright, talented artist, Jacques Louis David, appeared in the painting of France. In his work, ancient traditions, the aesthetics of classicism merged with political struggle, organically intertwined with the politics of the revolution, this gave rise to a new phase of classicism in French culture - "revolutionary classicism".
David was the son of a Parisian merchant (wholesaler, businessman), he graduated from the Royal Academy. In his early works, he is close to the traditions of the late Baroque and even some elements of the Rococo. Having received the "Prize of Rome" as best student Academy, he ends up in Italy in 1775. There he gets acquainted with the monuments of antiquity, studies the works Italian artists. After that, David begins to use in his works what attracted him in antiquity, however, trying not to imitate, but to look for his own way.
It must be said that on the eve of the revolution, the ideal of French bourgeois society, to which David also belonged, was antiquity, but not Greek, but Roman, during the Roman Republic. The priests from the pulpit do not quote the Gospel, but the Roman historian Titus Livy. In the theater, the tragedies of Corneille, the playwright, who in the images ancient heroes glorified civic virtues and a sense of patriotism. That's how it went a new style, and David acted in his paintings of this period as his true herald ("Oath of the Horatii").
With the beginning of the revolutionary events, David draws up mass festivities, is engaged in the nationalization of works of art and the transformation of the Louvre into a national museum. National holidays were organized, for example, on the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille or the proclamation of the Republic, in honor of the "Supreme Being" or the solemn transfer of the remains of Voltaire and Rousseau to the Pantheon. Most of these feasts were prepared directly by David. Each such design was a synthesis of the arts: fine, theatrical, musical, poetic, oratory.
In 1793, the National Museum was opened in the Louvre, which from now on became both the center of artistic culture and art school. Artists still come there to copy, to study the masterpieces of world fine art.
In 1790, David begins to big picture commissioned by the Jacobins "Oath in the ballroom", in which he planned to create an image of the people in a single revolutionary impulse. Unfortunately, the picture was not written, except for sketches, sketches. When the "friend of the people" Marat was killed, the artist painted his famous painting "The Death of Marat" on behalf of the Convention.
Since 1793, David has been a member of the Committee of Public Safety - and is moving closer to the head of the Jacobin party, Robespierre. But after the fall of the Jacobin dictatorship political career the artist is interrupted, and he himself is briefly arrested.
His subsequent path is the path from the first artist of the republic to the court painter of the empire. During the Directory, he writes "The Sabines". Begins to show interest in the image of Napoleon. And during the period of Napoleon's empire, he becomes the first painter of the emperor. By his order he writes huge paintings"Napoleon at the St. Bernard Pass", "Coronation", etc.
The overthrow of Napoleon and the restoration of the Bourbons force David to emigrate from France. From now on, he lives in Brussels, where he dies.
In addition to historical paintings, David left a large number of beautiful in painting and characterization of portraits. By the strict elegance of his writing, David ordained character traits of that classicism of the beginning of the 19th century, which was called Empire.
In September 1783, David was accepted as a full member of the Royal Academy for this painting. The artist wanted to show here the sad fate of the heroes, grief over the loss of their father and husband.
The strokes in the picture are almost invisible, the smooth surface of the canvas seems to be enamel, the bodies look like animated marbles. An icy light fills the room where Hector's burial bed stands, gleams on a tall bronze candelabra, and fades away in the depths, where mourning draperies silently remind of death. Andromache's eyes, red with tears, look into the eyes of the viewer. Everything here breathes with real antiquity: weapons copied from Roman reliefs, hammered bronze of a lamp, slender carved furniture, similar to the one that David saw in Pompeian houses. But the main thing that excited the audience was a sense of the necessity and nobility of a feat.
Kavrtina was a great success with the audience.
One day, David and a friend were watching the retinue of the king, who went hunting. Cheerful exclamations, laughter, lively voices were heard from the lawn, located at a distance. Several courtiers and officers tried in turn to jump on a kicking, apparently almost unbroken, stallion. The horse was extraordinarily good - dappled gray, with a matted long mane. He reminded David of the horses of the Dioscuri from the Roman Capitol. And everything here seemed like antiquity revived: a wild horse rushing from the hands of people, a grove pierced by the sun, a dilapidated wall of a patrician villa in the distance...
No one managed to tame the stallion, it was impossible to stay in the saddle, the most skillful riders failed. Finally, another decided to try his luck. Very young, thin, quick in his movements, he walked out onto the lawn with light steps and threw off his caftan. Left in one camisole, the young man seemed quite fragile next to the huge stallion. Almost without touching the stirrups, he jumped into the saddle and, yanking the reins violently, reared his horse. Dust, clods of earth flew into the eyes of the audience; the stallion darted wildly in different directions, suddenly stopped, trying to throw the rider over his head, and again rushed forward like a quarry. Everyone, with bated breath, watched the duel of a man and a horse.
The man won. Shuddering and tossing his head, squinting with bloodshot eyes, the stallion stopped in the very middle of the clearing. The rider turned to the audience happy and tired, quite a boyish face and solemnly took off his hat, saluting the king. His chest heaved heavily under the blue sash, the excitement of the recent struggle had not yet faded in his eyes, the frill laces were torn, revealing his neck. The audience applauded like in a theater. This scene was so vividly imprinted in the eyes of the artist that he began to paint a picture.
The artist depicted Count Potocki riding a magnificent and already submissive stallion. He takes off his hat in salute to the king. The light blue ribbon of the order of the white eagle on the count's chest, the cream-colored leggings, the blue sky, the juicy greenery of young grass, the white lace of Potocki's shirt, the sunspots on the ground - real holiday painting!
As you can see, not only antiquity, but also modern life, if it has something from the heroism of the Romans, and maybe just from the courage of a person, is capable of firmly capturing the heart of an artist.
David chose historical plot, inspired by the novel of the famous writer Jean Francois Marmontal in those years about the sad fate of Belisarius, commander of Emperor Justinian. Mixing history with legend, Marmontal described the life of a courageous warrior, a favorite of soldiers, who won many victories for the glory of his master. But Justinian did not trust Belisarius and was afraid of him. In the end, the emperor decided to get rid of the too famous military leader. Belisarius was deprived of his ranks and wealth, and then, on the orders of a cruel and distrustful monarch, he was blinded.
In the book of Marmontal, David drew on one of the last episodes - the old warrior recognizes his commander in a decrepit, blind beggar, begging for alms.
The painting depicts heavy pedestals, the bases of powerful columns. In the distance, hills reminiscent of the Alban mountains. There, in a dense mass of trees, one can see the roofs of houses and temples...
Belisarius sits on a stone, his head is raised up - he is blind, he does not see the world, he only listens to it. The armor on the shoulders of the commander sadly sets off the rags in which he is dressed. A guide boy in a light tunic holds out Belisarius' battle helmet. And in this helmet, which so often with its brilliance terrified the enemies of a powerful state, in this helmet, in which Belisarius fought in Persia, in Africa, in Rome, some kind-hearted woman puts alms.
In the distance, an old soldier looks with amazement and horror at a decrepit blind man. not daring to recognize in the beggar the famous commander, rich and beloved by the soldiers. David did not yet dare to entrust the viewer with an assessment of the event, and the soldier, as it were, expressed the surprise and grief of the artist himself.
The picture is full of humanity, courageous suffering and compassion.
Once David was excited by the play of Cornelius on the stage of the French Theater - the tragedy of Horace, as a story about the courageous and worthy life of the ancients, as a revival of ancient heroics:
Returned to Father's house after the battle with the enemies, the only surviving son of old Horace. Here he, the winner, saw his own sister mourning the death of her lover - a young man from a hostile family. In anger, he killed his sister with a sword. And now the young man is judged, and he old father protects his son. Father's ardent speech sounds from the stage:
Holy laurels! You who are being sullied here!
You whose sheets save your head from thunder!
Do you allow the enemy, dragging to execution,
Oh, Romans, friends, are you ready
To impose shameful fetters on the hero?
Will he be ruthlessly executed,
To whom does Rome owe its freedom?
And David conceives a picture of Horace and his sons.
The canvas is a huge canvas. Against the background of gloomy stone arcades, a scarlet cloak, thrown over the shoulder of the younger Horace, burns like a torch. Three sons in full military armor, with helmets and with spears, stretched right hand towards the father in the traditional and manly gesture of the Roman greeting. The old man himself, raising his coldly shining swords, confirms the oath of his sons in fidelity to duty and readiness to fight the enemies with his blessing and, like a military commander, admonishes them before the battle. In a sad stupor, the sisters of the warriors bow into each other's arms. The sound of a heavy and formidable weapon seems to come from the canvas. The swords, the hands of the father and sons, united in the very center of the canvas, symbolize the meaning and significance of the picture: over everything, over human feelings and lives, over the grief of women and the old age of the father, an oath of allegiance to duty and the blades of swords are raised.
The canvas of David embodied alive and proud people, in the strict features of the ancient heroes of the concept of duty, honor and love for the motherland, it made people see the futility and insignificance of petty everyday affairs, secular bustle, next to the true greatness of the spirit, next to thoughts of freedom that corresponded to the mood of many Parisians.
Therefore, the picture caused a stir, there were no indifferent people, there were only friends and enemies. And that is why some academicians were so indignant: they rightly saw in the picture not only a violation of the accepted canons, but also a dangerous freethinking.
The plot refers to the famous battle during the Greco-Persian wars.
In September 480 BC. at the end Greco-Persian War the Persians, in an attempt to invade Greece, make the transition to the rocky gorge of Thermopylae. After two days of fighting, the Persians decide to take a desperate step when the traitor Efkalt shows them a detour to the rear of the Greeks. The leader of the Spartans, Leonidas, dies along with 300 Spartans, surrounded by enemies. They fought heroically against vastly superior forces and fought to the last, thanks to which their compatriots were able to evacuate civilians and prepare for defense.
The central character of the picture is King Leonid, naked and unarmed (but with a large round shield, a baldric of armor and a helmet), crouching on a piece of rock, bending his left leg.
On the right hand is his brother Agis, with a wreath on his head, which is worn during the sacrifice before the battle ( ancient custom), and the blind Eurytus, guided by the slave of the Spartans, brandishes a spear.
On the other side is a group of Spartans with a trumpeter over their heads. Soldiers clutch weapons and shields or kiss women before going to their deaths.
To the left of the picture, a soldier clings to a rock to engrave with a hilt the phrase "Those going to Sparta will be told that we died in obedience to their laws."
The painting "Leonidas at Thermopylae" shows not the battle itself, but the preparation for it.
The picture was painted during the French Revolution, when society did not yet know what awaited them tomorrow, but everyone was in a lively expectation of change. The appearance of this canvas was expected as a hero. The freedom of composition, a direct allusion to modernity delighted the audience, but outraged the academicians, and they wanted to forbid the exhibition of a seditious, in their opinion, canvas. However, I had to give in to the demands of the audience and the picture was put on display.
Bright splashes of color tore at the darkish canvas. The wife of Brutus and the daughters clinging to her seemed to be petrified, a silent cry frozen on their lips, making their faces look like antique tragic masks. Pieces of multi-colored matter thrown on the table, a needle stuck in a ball of thread, spoke of the former life with its ordinary and now forever lost serene peace.
Brutus sat at the foot of the statue of Rome, motionless, silent, he forced himself not to turn around, not to look at the bodies of his executed sons. The figure of Brutus, immersed in shadow, seemed like a statue of desperation and endless determination.
The spectators, many of whom had already made or were ready to make any sacrifice in the name of still distant freedom, stood silent and serious. These days, people sincerely forgot about everyday little things. Brutus gave the audience an example of the resilience needed by anyone who doomed himself to fight.
The Spartan princess Helena was the most beautiful mortal woman of the Oikumene. It was said that she inherited her beauty from Zeus. Everyone dreamed of becoming her husband, but she refused everyone. Elena was very temperamental by nature and did not really adhere to decorum in relationships. The girl's father, King Tyndareus, fearing all the new tricks of his daughter, gave her in marriage to a rich young man, the son of the Trojan king Priam Menelaus, madly in love with her. After the death of Helen's father, Menelaus became king in his place. He idolized his wife, did not leave her a single step, which caused her furious anger and indignation. She was rude to her husband, shouted at him and made no secret of the fact that she did not love him at all. Wanting to soften the obstinate wife, Menelaus gave her gifts, but this did not help for long.
Everything has changed since Elena met beautiful young man Paris and fell in love with him. Paris learned from visiting merchants that the most a beautiful woman on the ground. He wished to see the queen and on several ships went to Sparta to King Menelaus. The young king cordially received the guest, and he, forgetting about decency, did not take his eyes off her all evening. Elena clearly reciprocated the stranger.
The next day, Menelaus went on business, and Paris met with Helen, and they made an escape plan. She let the Trojan prince into her chambers and spent several passionate nights with him. And then, having collected the jewels, she went with her lover on his ship.
The Trojans fell in love with Helen for her beauty. But Menelaus did not accept the loss of his wife. He swore to destroy Menelaus and his friends and sent an army to Troy. But only after 10 years with the help of cunning and " Trojan horse"The Greeks captured Troy. Paris died from a poisoned arrow. And Menelaus forgave his wife who threw herself at his feet and lived with her until his death.
David sought out a story from Titus Livius. how in distant ages, which even to the Romans seemed ancient, there was a great feud between the Romans and the Sabines. The Romans invited the neighbors of the Sabines to the feast, but the intentions of the Romans were insidious: they unexpectedly attacked the guests and captured the Sabine women present at the feast. The Sabines decided to take revenge, gathered an army and moved to Rome. But at the moment when a bloody battle was about to break out, the Sabine women rushed into the thick of the warriors and forced them to stop the fight. Since then, the legend said, the Romans and the Sabines united into a single people.
David considered that this legend would be most timely in his era. David did not paint a single picture for such a long time. But at last the picture is finished.
The stormy battle froze on the canvas, fettered by the impassive purity of the lines. Beautiful as marble statues, naked warriors froze with weapons in their hands. Even the women of the Sabine, who rushed to separate the enemies, seemed to be petrified, even the mother, who raised the child to the sky, stopped like a statue.
A forest of spears shot up in the depths of the picture near the walls of ancient Rome. Ahead, the two leaders stopped before a decisive battle. Romulus is ready to throw a light dart, the leader of the Sabines Tatius is waiting for the enemy with a drawn sword and a raised shield. The copied weapon could strike with the accuracy of outlines. David painted all the characters in the picture from nature.
Napoleon himself saw the picture, but he did not understand it. The reaction of the audience also turned out to be ambiguous: along with the high appreciation of art connoisseurs who understood its relevance in these difficult times, there were many perplexed cheerful exclamations - how can so many people be exposed to the public naked! A blank wall of misunderstanding stood between the audience and the canvas.
The artist painted a picture on famous plot on the death of the Roman philosopher, poet and statesman Seneca.
Seneca belonged to the class of horsemen. At the request of the mother of the future emperor, Nero became his tutor.
From his youth, Seneca was fond of philosophy. During the reign of the emperor Caligula enters the Senate, quickly becoming a popular speaker. The glory of the orator and writer Seneca arouses the envy of the emperor so that he wanted to kill him, if not for the persuasion of one of the concubines.
During the reign of Emperor Nero, he becomes his first adviser. The influence of Seneca on the emperor was enormous. Later, he receives the highest position of consul in the empire, becomes very rich.
Nero persuades his advisers Seneca and Burra to indirectly participate in the murder of his mother Agrippina. After this crime, Seneca's relationship with the emperor becomes increasingly strained. Later, Seneca resigned and left all his fortune to Emperor Nero.
Nero, feeling the enormous influence of Seneca in society, which interferes with him, decides to remove his tutor and adviser. Seneca was sentenced to death, but had the right to choose how he died.
Seneca decided to commit suicide. Despite her husband's persuasion, his wife Paulina decided to leave with him. They both cut their veins in their arms. In Seneca, who was already old, the blood flowed slowly, and he opened the veins in his legs. Since death still did not come, Seneca asked the doctor to give him poison.
Socrates is a famous ancient Greek philosopher. In ordinary life, he was distinguished by great simplicity, meekness and extraordinary courage in the struggle for the truth and his convictions.
Usually Socrates preached on the streets, mainly involving young people in conversation, in discussion, helping young men to delve into the essence of the concepts of good and evil, beauty, love, immortality of the soul, knowledge, etc.
The directness of Socrates' judgments created many enemies for him, who accused him of corrupting youth and denying state religion. The main accuser of Socrates was the wealthy and influential democrat Anita.
The philosopher was sentenced to death. Friends offered him flight, but Socrates refused and courageously, calmly drank a cup of hemlock poison.
David depicted a prison room. A simple bed stands against a bare stone wall. On it is Socrates saying goodbye to his students. There are chains on the floor, from which the philosopher has already been released.
The artist contrasts the strict courage of the old philosopher with the deep despair of those gathered around him. The executioner himself, passing the poison to the convict, is shocked by what is happening.
At the foot of the bed, David portrayed Plato, immersed in thought. At the bed sits the dialogue Crito, which is part of the Platonic Corpus. He expresses his feelings more openly than Plato. At the head of the bed, the most expressive of all those present is Apollodorus, a Greek grammarian and philosopher. And of course, the disciples of Socrates are nearby, not hiding their grief.
The picture conveys a historical event: the murder by the enemies of the French Revolution of the publisher of the newspaper "Friend of the People" Jean Marat, who in the newspaper especially called for the execution of the tyrant king, otherwise there would be no peace for ordinary Frenchmen.
Marat was sick, so he lay in the bath, covered with a sheet, taking treatment for a cold. The day before, a letter was brought to him from a woman who asked to be received in order to tell him about an allegedly impending conspiracy. At the moment of taking a bath, Marat was just reading a letter, in his other hand he had a pen. At this time, that woman came, and she was allowed to see Marat. She entered and plunged a knife into Marat's defenseless chest, thus avenging the executed king. The next day, a delegate from the people of Giro offered to paint a picture about the death of Marat, a friend of the common people.
David accurately depicted the situation of the event: Marat was lying in the bath, a letter of petition was still clutched in his hand, his head wrapped in a towel, and the other hand, with a pen, hung helplessly; there is a knife nearby. On the pedestal, where the writing instruments lie, there is a large inscription: "Maratu - David."
An ominous mood is given by cold walls, a cold bath. On the face of Marat, impotence and suffering are forever imprinted. The pale, washed-out coloring of the painting gives it the appearance of a tomb sculpture.
This canvas is more than two and a half meters wide. The artist conveys in the picture the triumphal procession of Emperor Napoleon after the French Revolution. This is a monument to Napoleon - a slightly theatrical figure on a rearing horse against the backdrop of a wild mountain landscape, against the background of a stormy sky with passing clouds.
Everything was magnificent in this picture: a rearing horse on the edge of an abyss, a wide cloak beating in an icy wind, a calm gesture of the general’s hand sending troops forward, the commander’s face, devoid of the slightest bit of excitement. All spectacular details: a brilliant harness, a gilded hilt of a saber, a hat with galloon, collar embroidery, a swept mane of a horse - were arranged on the canvas in a thoughtful and clear mess and made up a mosaic as unified as rich.
A living image of time appeared on the canvas, hiding a sober calculation behind the dazzling brilliance of solemn ceremonies and a thirst for power behind the pride of victories.
On the rock, trampled under the hooves of a horse, acting as a pedestal, the names of the great generals of antiquity are inscribed: Charlemagne and Hannibal. The third name is Bonoparte.
The first consul was very pleased with the portrait and ordered three copies of it.
The inviting gesture of an outstretched hand is subsequently often repeated in the paintings of the era of romanticism.
Pope Pius II is the founder of the Order of Bethlehem. While studying at the university, he read the works of Cicero, Livy, and, imitating the Roman poets, wrote erotic poems. Was a humanist. He showed diplomatic skills at the court of the German Emperor Frederick III, and then became his personal secretary.
At the age of 40, he took the priesthood and was appointed Bishop of Siena, then a cardinal, and, finally, the Pope.
As a humanist, Pius supported the development of cultural life at the papal court. interested classical literature wrote Latin poetry.
He strongly supported attempts to find a cure for the then rampant plague. At the court of Pius II, a letter was drawn up Turkish sultan calling for conversion to Christianity. He founded the military Order of St. Mary of Bethlehem.
next to the Pope, Cardinal Caprara - he was appointed First Consul of France (at that time Napoleon Bonoparte) - papal legate at the court of Papf Pius II. Paris became the residence of Caprara.
In 1802 he was appointed Archbishop of Milan by the Pope. And in 1804 he persuaded Pius II to travel to Paris for the coronation of Napoleon. Caprara, in his capacity as Archbishop of Milan, crowned Napoleon as King of Italy by placing a crown on him.
Lucy Semplis Camille Benoit Desmoulins - French lawyer, journalist and revolutionary. The initiator of the march on the Bastille, which marked the beginning of the French Revolution.
Desmoulins was a friend of Maximilian Robespierre, imbued with respect for the ancient revolutionary spirit.
Despite his stuttering, he was an excellent orator and became a lawyer.
During the unrest in Paris, he addressed the crowd, calling to arms. The first one attached a green ribbon (the color of hope) to his hat. This call gave the first impetus to the destruction of the Bastille. He demanded the proclamation of a republic.
At the trial of Louis XVI stood for the death of the king.
However, later Desmoulins began to call for mercy in his articles, but Robespierre stopped supporting him. As a result, Desmoulins was convicted by a revolutionary tribunal and executed along with Danton.
The painting depicts Desmoulins in the best years of his life with his wife and child.
David Jacques Louis (1748-1825) French painter.
Biography:
Jacques Louis David is a famous French painter.
Born August 30, 1748 in Paris in a wealthy bourgeois family. boy early
discovered a passion for drawing. In 1766, he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, where the artist J. M. Vien, who created paintings on ancient subjects, became David's teacher. After graduating from the Academy, the young painter, as was customary then, went on an internship to Italy. There he spent four years (1775-1779). Upon returning to his homeland, David became a member of the academy and regularly participated in its exhibitions.
Already in the early works of the master, the triumph of civil courage and reason over thoughtless cruelty was affirmed (“The Battle of Minerva and Mars”, 1771). Now antique scenes have firmly entered the artist's work. A romantic civic spirit was characteristic of the classicism of the pre-revolutionary era in France. David's first work in this style is Belisarius Begging Alms (1781).
This emphatically strict picture, glorifying the resilience of a true citizen in adversity, immediately attracted the attention of the audience.
Even more popular was another painting by David - "The Oath of the Horatii" (1784) on a plot from Roman history.
Three brothers from the noble family of Horatii defeated three of their opponents in the battle with the city of Alba Longa. And although two of the brothers died, the duel ended in favor of the Romans, which brought them a quick and bloodless victory.
David worked on a government order: the academy encouraged works that aroused patriotic feelings. In 1787, the painter created the painting "Death of Socrates",
In 1789"The lictors bring the bodies of his sons to Brutus." The last canvas was exhibited in revolutionary Paris after the storming of the Bastille and immediately became very popular. It depicted such pictures familiar to Parisians - women mourn the dead.
From that moment on, David recognized artist French Revolution. The painting “The Oath in the Ballroom” (1791) was not completed by the master, since most of its heroes, deputies of parliament, either ended up in exile a year later or fell victims of the Jacobin terror. In 1793, David wrote the compositions “The Murdered Lepeletier” and “The Death of Marat”,
combining in them the features of a portrait and historical canvas. The artist himself was a member of the Convention, participated in the creation of new revolutionary holidays. It was he who was entrusted with the organization of the National Museum in the Louvre. After Napoleon I came to power, David became the chief court painter. He turned out to be unusually prolific, made many portraits of the emperor ("Napoleon at the crossing of St. Bernard", 1800,
and others), his wife Josephine, courtiers (“Madame Recamier”, 1800;
Portraits of the Serisia couple, 1795):
Pierre Serisia
1790
Portrait of Madame Emilia Serizia, 1795
and generals, and also captured solemn events ("Coronation", 1805-1807).
Portrait of Napoleon in the Imperial Study
Zinaida and Charlotte Bonaparte, 1821
After the defeat of Napoleon, David was forced to leave for Brussels.
Anointing of Napoleon I and coronation of Josephine
Sappho and Phaon
1809
Death of Seneca
1773
Cupid and Psyche
1773
Antiochus and Stratonika, 1774
Academy of Fine Arts, Paris
Andromache at the body of Hector, 1783
Louvre Museum, Paris
Love of Paris and Helen, 1788
Louvre Museum, Paris
Portrait of Jacob Blaeu
Portrait of Countess Vilaine XIIII with her daughter
Portrait of Lavoisier and his wife Marie-Anne, 1788
Portrait of Dr. Alphonse Leroy, 1783
Contessa de Sorsi
Anna Marie Felucien
Portrait of Madame Henrietta de Vergnac Leonidas I and the Spartans
Portrait of a jailer
1794
Portrait of Pius VII
1788
Marguerite-Charlotte David, 1813
Introduction
Chapter 1. The Art of Realism during the Great French Revolution
Chapter 2. The work of Jacques Louis David before the start of the French Revolution
Chapter 3. Creativity of the master during the revolution. Thermidorian coup
Conclusion
Bibliography
INTRODUCTION
When David rose like a cold luminary above the horizon of art, a great turning point took place in painting. Charles Baudelaire, 1825
French art of the XIX century is an era of realism, inextricably linked for almost the entire century with the events Great Revolution. The founder of this direction, which carried out its artistic activity as early as the end of the 18th century, and originating from there, it is customary to consider Jacques Louis David.
ABOUT this master a sufficient amount of literature has been written, but, objectively speaking, the researchers of his work disagree on how truly unique his contribution to world art is. Some researchers believe that David's work is magnificent, his works are plastic and beautiful in color and composition, rightfully taking their place on a par with the Great Masters. Others, in turn, come to the conclusion that David's art is only purely political and social, and, in general, in fact, the artist practically did not create anything outstanding, while others take a neutral position, noting that his work is also inherent in first and second.
Thus, below we will try to figure out which of the authors adheres to which of the points of view.
The book of the famous Italian art historian L. Venturi "Artists of the New Age" covers the work of the greatest masters of Western European painting of the first half and the middle of the 19th century, characterizing their work and evaluating their artistic activity, including the work of David.
The author does not describe a detailed biography of the artist, but only gives general characteristics, incidentally speaking about the main directions of art of the XIX century. Special attention the author pays modern master historiography and art criticism. Thus, the work characterizes not only the creative image of the master himself, but also the environment in which he worked.
The special advantage of the work of L. Venturi lies in the fact that in addition to revealing the historical and artistic process, the evolution of the master's art, he also raises the question of the artistic value of certain works. In addition, in his work, the author gives great analysis paintings, always taking into account the underlying philosophical and ethical ideas. At the same time, he pays much attention to the nature of the pictorial expression of these ideas, the very execution of the picture.
However, it should be noted that through the entire work of L. Venturi, the author’s conviction passes as a guiding thought that concrete historical phenomena and ideas of a particular era did not play any decisive role in the development artistic creativity great masters, in which we, of course, cannot agree with him.
Speaking directly about David's work, the author notes that "David's personal contribution to the development of artistic taste lies in the rigor of decision, confidence, accuracy of graphic technique, in the denial of the independence of art, in the conscious transformation of art into a political and social tool." Thus, in his opinion, "he prepares the way for Courbet, but does not have any influence on the two most important artists of the first half of the century - Corot and Daumier." In addition, the author is convinced that “Goya is a pitiable courtier, Constable is villager conservative views, David is a regicide. However, it is David who does not participate in that genuine revolution in art, in that conquest of freedom in painting, which the 19th century is proud of and which Goya and Constable had the courage to start. Therefore, David appears as revolutionary in politics as reactionary in painting. This means that life itself interested him more than art. That is why he did not succeed, or succeeded only in rare cases, in creating genuine works of art. Thus, we see that the author is quite critical of the master's work.
V. Knyazeva holds a different point of view in his monograph "Jacques Louis David". Revealing the biographical details of the life and work of the artist, the author speaks with admiration of David not only as an excellent artist in the political aspect, but in more as a master who also left us images of a small “human comedy” in portraits of his loved ones, in portraits of wealthy officials, imposing military men, diplomats, political exiles, many of which are not finished. They, in her opinion, “reveal to us the secrets of David's craftsmanship. In their immediacy, at least seeming, they captured their time even better than finished works.
However, the author, of course, pays tribute and public works, but says that, despite the fact that David, more than any of his contemporary artists, was associated with the political life of his era, and his creative triumphs and failures are associated with the revolution, at the same time he carried out a revolution in areas of artistic style. And already around 1780, he confidently headed the “great style”, combining politics and art: “Witness of his era, David captured it in his works, bringing order and a certain style to its display. And vice versa, David's somewhat artificially strict neoclassical style softens and is revived with an updated one due to the requirements of a realistic depiction of life. In this continuous interaction of nature and style, the genius of David is revealed.
And if we talk about the author's attitude to David's art as a whole, it will be necessary to cite the following words: “David's speeches and letters speak of what a passionate fighter for the new art he was. His extensive literary heritage testifies to the high demands he placed on art. His works are imbued with sincere, ardent faith in the great national significance of art.
A.N. Zamyatin in the work of the same name "David". The author also displays in sufficient detail the creative and political path of the artist, however, a huge plus of this work, in our opinion, is a huge number of references to the primary source - speeches and letters of David himself. That is why this work in our work is given a very significant place.
The author herself, speaking about the revolutionary art of David, very warmly notes that the very reason why David went to meet these demands of the revolution speaks of his political insight and deep understanding social tasks of his art. In her opinion, David was able to determine not only the direction of work, but also the choice of the type of art that for a given historical moment acquired the leading value. In other words, despite the constant rushing of the master in search of the ideal - initially in antiquity, in the events of the revolution, and later in Napoleon, the author is firmly convinced that it was thanks to the constant influence of his idols that David's skill reached unprecedented heights.
But the most complete work, reflecting all the smallest details of the life and work of the master, was the monograph by A. Schnapper "David is a witness of his era". It was in it that we found not only all the most outstanding events that determined the trends in the development of David's work in one direction or another, but also a number of seemingly insignificant, but somehow played a role in the master's art. This work is also based on primary sources and testimonies of contemporaries, it presents the deepest study of the subject, as well as an excellent analysis of many works.
Very interesting in terms of philosophical understanding of the works of David was the book of J.F. Guillou "The Great Canvases". The author characterizes the master's work as "three parts of a grandiose series of works created by David, which tells about a hero who sacrifices himself for the happiness of his people: the cycle of myth, the cycle of revolution and the cycle of peace, sealed by an oath that became the basis of a new order" . In addition, the work gives a very deep analysis of the works, and its distinctive feature is the emphasis not on stylistic features, but an attempt to penetrate into the essence of the theme of each of the cycles, characterizing the role and essence of the hero in them.
Two more works to be named are David. Death of Marat” and “J.L. David". Both tell about the creative and personal life of the artist, with the only difference that in the first work the emphasis is on the most famous works, and the second work is replete with many small biographical details that could only be found in A. Schnapper. Both works are based on the works already listed above, but they include many excellent illustrations.
Speaking directly about historical era, then the books of Mikhailova I.N. and Petrashch E.G. "The Art and Literature of France from Ancient Times to the 20th Century", N.A. Dmitrieva " Short story art” and “The General History of Art”, edited by Yu.D. Kolpinsky.
In all works given excellent characteristic events of the period of the revolution, however, N.A. Dmitriev, among other things, also directly characterizes the art of this era.
Speaking of revolutionary classicism, she mentions Rousseau's theory of closeness to nature. The concept of "fidelity to nature" in art in general, in her opinion, is multi-valued and loose concept, it should never be taken too literally. Much is laid in nature, and people, depending on their ideals and tastes, tend to absolutize and emphasize one or the other of its features, which at the moment attract and seem to be the most important. This is how art is created - a wonderful fusion of the objective-natural and the subjective-human. After all, people themselves are part of nature and, even not wanting to imitate it, they still do it. On the other hand, even if they want to follow it exactly, they inevitably transform it in their own way. That is why the works of artists of the era of the French Revolution seem to her "artificial". She says that "there is little natural in their allegories, pompous gestures, in the statuary of figures, in forced rationalism" .
Thus, there is a sufficient amount of literature on the topic we have chosen. Nevertheless, to try to bring together all points of view, in our opinion, is a rather urgent problem, which is why purpose Our work was an attempt to reflect the creative path of the artist through the eyes of many art historians and art critics. For the most complete disclosure of the topic, we set the following tasks:
1. reveal the main trends in the art of the period of the Great French Revolution;
2. trace the artist's creative path up to the beginning of the revolutionary events;
3. identify the main directions in the work of David during the events of the revolution, as well as after the Thermidorian coup.
In this work, we used methods of analysis scientific literature and the biographical method. The object in this case is the art of the period of the French bourgeois revolution, and the subject is the work of David.
CHAPTER 1. THE ART OF REALISM IN THE PERIOD OF THE GREAT FRENCH REVOLUTION
France was the first big country on the European continent, where the revolution led to the destruction of the feudal system. Bourgeois relations were established here in their purest form. At the same time, in France, which had gone through four revolutions, the labor movement, earlier than in other countries, acquired the character of militant actions. The intense struggle of the popular masses against the feudal aristocracy, then against the ruling bourgeoisie, the active participation in the struggle of the proletariat left a special heroic imprint on the course of history, which was reflected in the art of France in the 19th century. Acute political conflicts, witnessed and sometimes participants of which were artists, put progressive art in close connection with social life.
Revolutionary ideas become the main ones in the development of the culture of this time, determining the revolutionary orientation of art, and, first of all, revolutionary classicism. To reveal civil ideals, artists turn to antiquity, "in order to hide from themselves the bourgeois-limited content of their struggle, in order to keep their inspiration at the height of the great historical tragedy."
In other words, the artistic expression of the French Revolution was not free expression. An ardent striving for the public good played a much greater role here, a striving that led to the predominance of political and civic values over artistic ones. All artists more or less valued by Napoleon made sacrifices to the god of practicality: they were denied "the right and even the opportunity to find satisfaction in the abstract sphere of beauty" and placed on them "the duty to do things that could receive useful application in accordance with the positive interests and practical institutions of the nation. Art aims to benefit, not to a narrow circle of privileged persons, but to the whole nation and rather to the masses than educated people". As in Greece, “art must now become a rational institution, a mute but always eloquent law, elevating thought and purifying the soul. What could be more beautiful than such service?” .
Therefore, it is natural that great attention is paid to art during the Revolution, invariably emphasizing its agitational role - it is now considered not as “a simple decoration on state building but as an integral part of its foundation. Hence, the main duty of both the government, municipalities, and individuals is recognized as joint work on the awakening and development of an aesthetic sense: much attention is now being paid to teaching drawing in schools, organizing museums.
Thus, during the period of the French Revolution, there were two concepts of art: "pure and indifferent neoclassical beauty" (Winckelmann's concept) and "expressive, useful, public art", required by the political life of the revolution and the empire, whose ideals were absolutely opposite.
Nevertheless, paradoxical as it may seem, for example, Jacques Louis David and his school did not distinguish between these ideals, asserting the correctness of one or the other, and, depending on the topic, they used either classic or expressive techniques. E. Delacroix wrote about this in his diary: “David is a kind of combination of realism and idealism. Until now, he still reigns in a certain sense, and, despite the noticeable changes in tastes in the modern school, it is quite obvious that everything comes from him. . But as A.N. Zamyatin, the connection and interaction of elements of realism and idealization in David's work is a phenomenon historically conditioned by the tendencies of the bourgeois-democratic movement of this era.
And this was not only a feature of David's personal biography, but of the whole trend of classicism, which he so vividly represented. The borrowed ideals and norms of classicism paradoxically contained opposing social ideas: both rebellion against tyranny, and worship of tyrants, and ardent republicanism, and monarchism.
The art of bourgeois classicism repeated in miniature the evolution of Ancient Rome, which it revered, from republic to empire, preserving the stylistic forms and decorative system that had developed under the republic. In contrast to Rococo, classicism, having been saturated with the ideas of Rousseau, proclaimed simplicity and closeness to nature. Now the slogan "return to nature", "naturalness" seems strange in the mouths of the classicists, because their works are somewhat far-fetched. Nevertheless, the ideologists of classicism were sure that, imitating antiquity, art thus imitates nature. They honored "simplicity and clarity", not noticing that their clarity was as conventional a form as the pretentiousness of the Rococo. In some respects, classicism departed from "nature" even in comparison with Rococo, if only in that it rejected the pictorial vision, and with it the rich culture of color in painting, replacing it with coloring.
If we mention that the classicist tendencies were also transferred to things and accessories, then we can mention the words of Vigel, who wrote in his memoirs: “One thing was somewhat funny in this: all those things that the ancients had for ordinary, home use , the French and we served as one decoration; for example, vases did not retain any liquids with us, tripods did not smoke, and lamps in the ancient style, with their long spouts, were never lit. Wigel unmistakably captured the element of inorganicity in modern classicism. It was no longer an organic big style, like the styles of the past.
And yet, in essence, all these trends represented special, definite stages in the development of realism of the 19th century, that is, the realism of the era of capitalism, whose characteristic feature, as already mentioned, was the growing desire for a concrete historical reflection of reality. Whatever themes the artists turned to, they sought to reveal national features: both in progressive romanticism, and even in such the most abstract direction as revolutionary classicism, the appeal to antiquity was associated with modern history.
Subsequently, all these tendencies become even more aggravated and affect both the subject matter, which comes closer to the surrounding reality, introducing a critical assessment into it, and artistic embodiment. The features of conventionality inherent in classicism and romanticism are overcome, and the real world is finally affirmed in concrete forms of life itself.
The found new painting techniques carried a semantic, emotional load, allowing the artist to create a vivid, impressive image. The achievements of French painting in this area had a great impact on European painting.
However, along with revolutionary classicism, which paid tribute to unity with nature, such forms of art are also spreading, in which the thoughts and aspirations of the people could be more directly embodied, without losing organic connection directly with classicism. Among such phenomena, it is necessary to name mass holidays, the largest master and organizer of which was also Jacques Louis David. The fact that he loved his work very much is evidenced by the fact that the government appeal to him, as the organizer of the festivities, was followed by David's answer: “I thank the Supreme Being that it gave me some talent to glorify the heroes of the Republic. Devoting my talent to such an appointment, I especially feel its value.
The temperament of the people manifested itself in the national dances of the different provinces, which sometimes preceded the official ceremonies. There was a lot of spontaneity in the conduct of the holidays, coming directly from the people, but the official programs of ceremonies sought to introduce a strictly regulated solemn harmony into the festivities. For example, in the project of the Federation holiday, one can literally read the slogan of classicism: "... the touching scene of their unification will be illuminated by the first rays of the sun." Among the ruins of the Bastille, “the fountain of the Renaissance will be erected in the form of the personification of Nature” and further: “the scene of action will be simple, its decoration will be borrowed from nature.”
Enormous funds were allocated for the festivities, and the scripts gave a new concept of a public holiday. The composition was not determined central figure demonstrated by the hero and passive spectators, but the active and equal participation of all. In the organization of the masses, the goal was, first of all, to emphasize universal equality, while at the same time highlighting the individual features of the members of this society of equals.
Thus, the pathos of the struggle, the desire to embody the revolutionary spirit of the people, inherent in progressive art, which developed with the most severe resistance from official circles, largely determined the originality of French art and its national contribution to the history of world art.
CHAPTER 2. THE WORK OF JACQUES LOUIS DAVID BEFORE THE GREAT FRENCH REVOLUTION
By the beginning of the 19th century, Jacques Louis David, the most consistent representative of neoclassicism, was the generally recognized leader among artists. He began his art education in the workshop of Vienne, from 1766 he studied at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, and in 1771 he successfully participated in the competition for the Rome Prize with the painting “The Battle of Minerva with Mars” (1771; Louvre). The picture was painted in the spirit of the academic manner of that time, however, the success of the picture did not provide David with the desired reward. Professor Vien, perhaps offended by the fact that the student spoke without first informing him, for the purpose of pedagogical influence, rejected the award under the pretext "that for the first time David can consider himself happy just because his judges liked him." Respectful to the elders, David kindly explained the professor's act as follows: "I think that Vien spoke so for my benefit, at least I cannot imagine any other purpose on the part of the teacher." The next two attempts to achieve what they wanted also turned out to be unsuccessful, and when in 1774 David, for the painting “Antiochus, son of Seleucus, King of Syria, with a sick love that he was imbued with Stratonika, his stepmother, the doctor Erazistrat discovers the cause of the disease” finally achieved the long-awaited awards, the news of the victory shocked him so much that he fainted and, recovering himself, frankly exclaimed: “My friends, for the first time in four years, I breathed lightly.” Those stylistic changes that are noticeable in this picture compared to the "Fight of Mars and Minerva" are not a manifestation of the creative individuality of David, but only reflect the shifts that are taking place in official art. The dominant Rococo style is becoming obsolete in the ephemeral revival of academicism and in the return to classical traditions XVII century: the nature of the plot of the competitive picture is a historical anecdote, but the methods of its development have remained essentially the same.
Thus, only in 1775 did a trip to Italy take place, where he went as a scholarship holder of the Academy together with Vienne. The journey was for David the beginning of a new period of his apprenticeship. So far, he has been consolidating the methods of depiction, now he is learning to perceive the impressions of artistic images in painting and sculpture. Italy opened David's eyes to ancient world. David liked to associate his appeal to antiquity with the name of Raphael: “Oh, Raphael, divine man, you who raised me gradually to antiquity ... You gave me the opportunity to understand that antiquity is even higher than you.”
David wanted to study again, but in the opposite way, proceeding not from the study of techniques without regard to the content, but mastering these techniques as a means of expressing the content, which can be infinitely fascinating and which one must be able to tell in the language of painters. Alexandre Levoir describes David's behavior in this way: “He did not write anymore; like a young schoolboy, he began to draw eyes, ears, mouths, legs, hands for a whole year and was content with ensembles, copying from the best statues ... ".
In the head of David already arose creative ideas, in which he strove for such an ideal: “I want my works to bear the imprint of antiquity to such an extent that if one of the Athenians returned to the world, they would seem to him the work of Greek painters.”
And already in the first picture shown upon his return from Italy, “Belisarius, recognized by a soldier who served under his command, at the moment when a woman gives him alms” (1781; Lille, Palace of Fine Arts), he tried to implement his plan. It is significant that David now takes not a mythological plot, but a historical one, although fanned by a legend. The style of David's art in this picture has already come to light quite clearly.
However, it is important to note that another work by David was exhibited in the same Salon - a portrait of Count Potocki (1781; Warsaw, National Museum). The reason for painting the portrait was a life episode: in Naples, David witnessed how Pototsky pacified an unbroken horse. Although the gesture of Pototsky, welcoming the viewer, is somewhat theatrical, but by the way in which the artist conveyed the appearance of the person being portrayed, with all the characteristic details, how he deliberately emphasized negligence in clothes, how he contrasted the calmness and confidence of the rider with the hot, restless disposition of the horse, it is clear that the artist was not the transfer of reality in its living concreteness is alien. Since then, David's work has been going in two directions: in historical paintings on ancient themes, the artist in abstract images seeks to embody the ideals that excite pre-revolutionary France; on the other hand, he creates portraits in which he affirms the image real person. These two sides of his work remain separated until the revolution.
So, in 1784, David wrote the "Oath of the Horatii" (Louvre), which was the first real triumph of David and which, undoubtedly, was one of the harbingers of the Revolution. In The Oath of the Horatii, David borrows a plot from ancient history in order to embody advanced ideas of his time, namely: the idea of patriotism, the idea of citizenship. This picture, with its call to struggle, to the achievement of a civic feat, is one of the brightest manifestations of revolutionary classicism with all its stylistic features. The soldierly triviality of taking an oath, the melodramatic posture of the father, the mannered languor of the women make it difficult to see the artistic merit of this work. But at the same time, no one can forget that in this work, for the first time, pictorial rhetoric is expressed with such simplicity, with such an ability to emphasize the contrast between the strength of warriors and the weakness of women.
As if making up for the lack of an individual, specific moment in the artistic structure of his historical compositions, David paints portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Pekul (Louvre). If in The Oath of the Horatii the artist gives idealized, somewhat abstracted images, here, on the contrary, he resorts to the affirmation of the material world without any idealization of it. The artist shows the ugly hands of his models with thick short fingers, and in the portrait of Ms. Pekul - an obese neck, the skin of which hangs over pearls. Thanks to the costume and type of this woman, nothing of classicism is felt in this portrait. From studying classical form David drew only a powerful construction, which, on the one hand, emphasizes the vitality of the model, and on the other, its vulgarity.
David in his portraits represents what he directly observes in reality and, perhaps even without wanting it, creates images of people who are pleased with themselves, with their wealth and willingly flaunt it.
The portrait “Lavoisier with his wife” (1788; New York, Rockefeller Institute) was painted in a slightly different manner. The beauty of linear contours, the grace of gestures, the grace, elegance and refinement of the images should convey the charming image of the scientist and his wife. A contemporary critic of David wrote: “... Lavoisier is one of the most enlightened and great geniuses of his century, and his wife, of all women, is the most capable of appreciating him. In his picture, David conveyed their virtue, their qualities. The concept of "virtue" is embodied here in living concrete images.
If we talk about the manner of writing the artist in this first pre-revolutionary period, it can be noted that already in 1784 he reached full maturity in the craft of art. The evolution of his style continues until the end of his life, but the basis - his virtuosity remains unchanged. However, the first works of David were not yet classic and bore the stamp of that mannerism of the 18th century, the largest representative of which was Boucher. However, already in the first works, David reveals some insensitivity to color and a keen interest in the transfer of facial expressions. A passage from the memoirs of Étienne Delescluse clarifies this: “You see, my friend, what I then called unprocessed antiquity. Having sketched the head very carefully and with great difficulty, I returned to my room and made the drawing that you see here. I cooked it with a modern sauce, as I expressed it at the time. I slightly frowned her eyebrows, emphasized her cheekbones, slightly opened her mouth, that is, gave her what modern artists call expression and what today I call a grimace. Do you understand, Etienne? And yet we have a hard time with the critics of our time - if we worked exactly in the spirit of the principles of the ancient masters, our works would be found cold.
As early as 1807, David realized that pure imitation of the ancients was cold and lifeless. And he moves away from ancient patterns, introduces an expression into the drawing.
But from the transfer of expression to realism, the path is not far. The same perseverance of the master, which David showed in imitation of the ancients, he invested in the transfer of objects of the surrounding world. In The Distribution of Banners, one of David's contemporaries admired the veracity of the image of the soldiers: "The face, height, even thighs ... are characteristic of this type of weapon: a squat infantryman, smart, with short legs, which distinguishes the people selected for these regiments." But it was superficial realism, an accurate rendering of visible reality, without the participation of the imagination and with very little feeling. Hence the accusation of David in his lack of love for people, which was repeatedly repeated in the future. But David's technique was decisive. Blanche believes that this technique is art: "the art is direct, despite its seeming tension, the realistic, skillful craft of a conscientious worker ... something well done, modest, but resorting to rough effects" . And indeed, this realism of David, far from art, was unusually virtuoso and similar to classicism, which strove to create pure beauty. Only the depicted objects changed - antique statue or wildlife. But the process of representation in both cases was identical, the virtuosity of imitation is perfect and confident.
The consequence of this in the work of David was "courageous and powerful prose", as Delacroix characterizes one of his paintings. But still, prose, not poetry, was attached in relation to art as a means, not an end, as a means to achieve moral, social and political ideals.
CHAPTER 3. CREATIVITY OF THE MASTER IN THE PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION. THERMIDORIAN REVOLUTION
At the Salon of 1789, which opened in an atmosphere of revolutionary tension, the attention of all is riveted by the painting of David, exhibited under the title “Brutus, First Consul, on his return home after having condemned his two sons, who had joined Tarquinius and were in a conspiracy against the Roman freedom; lictors bring their bodies for burial” (1789; Louvre). The strength of the impact of this rhetorical picture of David on his revolutionary contemporaries, apparently, is explained by the fact that, taking a plot from ancient history, David again showed a hero for whom civic duty was above all else.
The revolutionary events gave a direct impetus to the further development of David's work. Now patriotic themes it was not at all necessary to search in antiquity, the heroic intrudes into life itself. David begins to work on a work that captures the event that took place on June 20, 1789, when the deputies in the Ball Game Hall took an oath "Under no circumstances disperse and assemble wherever circumstances require, until such time as it is worked out and established on solid foundations the constitution of the kingdom "(Louvre). In this picture, both of the above-mentioned tendencies of David could merge. Here the artist had the opportunity to express the idea of citizenship in the images of his contemporaries. Apparently, this is how David understood his task, performing forty-eight preparatory portraits. And yet, when a drawing with a general composition was exhibited at the Salon of 1791, the artist makes an inscription that does not claim to be a portrait resemblance. David wanted to show the revolutionary impulse of the people. The strict logical construction of the composition, the pathos of gestures - all this was also characteristic of David's previous paintings. However, here the artist seeks to give a sense of the excitement of the audience and convey the feeling of a thunderstorm that really swept over Paris on the day of this significant event. The fluttering curtain introduces a tense dynamism that is not characteristic of David's earlier works. In addition, the feelings of every citizen are now not only subordinated to the general enthusiasm, but also marked by some individual traits. This is the first work of David depicting a modern historical event, and in it he already speaks in a slightly different language than in his paintings of ancient subjects.
More and more often, artists are beginning to demand a reflection of modern life. “The realm of freedom opens up new opportunities for art,” writes Quatremer de Quency, “the more a nation acquires a sense of freedom, the more zealously it strives in its monuments to give a true reflection of its way of life and customs.”
Several paintings of revolutionary content were exhibited at the Salon of 1793. David responds to tragic event of his era. He writes of the murdered Lepeletier - the hero of the revolution, who, like David himself, voted for the execution of the king and was killed by the royalists on the eve of the execution of Louis XVI. In everything, David remained true to the principal of classicism - the artist did not so much want to present a portrait of the murdered Lepelletier, but to create the image of a patriot devoted to his homeland. The meaning of this picture is revealed by David himself in a speech delivered at the Convention on March 29, 1793, when the picture was presented: “A true patriot should, with all diligence, use all means to educate his compatriots and constantly show them manifestations of high heroism and virtue.” The picture has not reached us. Only an engraving by Tardieu, based on a drawing by David, has survived.
In the painting "The Death of Marat" (1793; Brussels, Museum), David approached the image of the murdered man in a different way, although the task remained the same - to influence the feelings of the viewer, to give him a lesson in patriotism. But another trend in David's art was organically combined with this task: the desire for a specific, individual characteristic that was inherent in his portraits.
When the news of the murder of Marat came to the Jacobin Club, David, who was then chairman, greeted the citizen who had detained Charlotte Corday with a kiss. To the exclamation of one of those present: “David, you passed on to the offspring the image of Lepeletier, who died for the fatherland, you just have to make one more picture,” David succinctly replied: “I will do it.” He was deeply shocked and worked on his work with feverish speed. It was completed in three months, solemnly presented to the Convention and placed together with the portrait of Lepelletier in the meeting room with a decree "that they cannot be removed from there under any pretext by subsequent legislators."
David portrayed Marat as he imagined him at the moment of death: the feeling is preserved that Marat had just died, the irreparable bitterest injustice had just ended, the hand holding the pen had not yet been unclenched, and the suffering fold had not smoothed out on his face, but at the same time the picture sounds like a requiem, and the figure of the murdered man is like a monument to him. David portrayed Marat in a real home environment, but the master rose above everyday reality and gave a sublimely heroic work in this sense. The artist found a synthesis of the emotions of the instantaneous and the eternal, which is so rare. “A tragedy full of pain and horror” - this is how Sh. Baudelaire spoke about his work.
Appointed as the organizer of the funeral ceremony, David stated: "I thought it would be interesting to present him the way I saw him - writing in the name of the happiness of the people." For an analogy with the work of David, it is interesting to read the protocol message about his visit to Marat. “On the eve of Marat's death, the Jacobin society instructed More and me to inquire about his health. We found him in a position that shocked me. In front of us stood a wooden stump on which ink and paper were placed. The hand, protruding from the bath, wrote the last thoughts about the salvation of the people.
“In this picture there is at the same time something tender and something that grabs the soul; in the cold air of this room, on these cold walls, around this cold and sinister bath, one can feel the spirit of the soul, ”wrote C. Baudelaire. David never again rose to such artistic heights.
During the revolutionary years, David creates a number of wonderful portraits in which he wants to tell, as it were, about his thoughts and the thoughts of his contemporaries. The search for ever greater expressiveness, the desire to convey the spiritual warmth of a person - this is the path of the artist's further work in the field of portrait art. Increasingly, the artist presents his models on a smooth background in order to focus all attention on the person. He is interested in a variety of psychological states. Calmness, serenity are palpable both in the facial expression and in the free, relaxed pose of the Marquise d "Orvilliers (1790, Louvre); in the feminine appearance of Madame Truden (c. 1790-1791, Louvre), hidden anxiety and seriousness are expressed. Sharply expressive pencil drawing- a portrait of Marie Antoinette (Louvre), made before her execution, it borders on a caricature, reveals the artist's powers of observation, the ability to grasp the most characteristic.
The creative activity of David before the Thermidorian coup is inextricably linked with the revolutionary struggle: he was a member of the Jacobin club, a deputy from Paris in the Convention; he was a member of the commission for public education, and then for the arts, and was also a member of the Committee of Public Safety.
After the counter-revolutionary coup, David renounced Robespierre, but was nevertheless arrested and imprisoned. During his stay in the Luxembourg prison, from her window, he paints a poetic corner of the Luxembourg Gardens (1794; Louvre). Tranquility permeates the entire landscape. And, on the contrary, in a self-portrait (1794; Louvre), also written in prison, and which remained unfinished, a completely different mood reigns. You can read confusion and anxiety in David's eyes. Anxious moods are quite understandable in an artist who has experienced the collapse of his ideals.
Simultaneously with the self-portrait, David creates other images. In the portrait of Serizia and his wife (1795; Louvre), the artist depicted people living easily and thoughtlessly. In the portraits of this time, David was primarily interested in social characteristic. He, as it were, showed with these works the complexity and inconsistency of that time.
In the same 1795, he conceived the painting “The Sabine Women Stop the Battle Between the Romans and the Sabines” (Louvre, 1799), with which he wanted to show the possibility of reconciliation of parties standing on different political platforms. But the idea of this picture was false, and it resulted in a cold, academic work. Since that time, the gap between the historical picture and the portrait, which could be observed in the work of David before the revolution, will again be felt. In portraits, David vigilantly peers into his models and, along with similarity, seeks to convey specificity, looking for the most appropriate means of expression. It is interesting that some portraits of David of the end of the century are made in a new manner, this is evidenced by the portrait of the young Ingres, unexpectedly soft and picturesque (c. 1800; Moscow, State Museum fine arts them. A.S. Pushkin).
In the portraits of David, we can always guess the attitude of the artist to the model, which is very clearly reflected in such works as Bonaparte at the St. Bernard Pass (1800; Versailles) and the portrait of Madame Recamier (1800; Louvre). It is impossible not to admire this peculiar monument of the era of the Consulate, in which, as in a mirror, aesthetic tastes that time. The appeal to antiquity is now only a pretext to create a special world, far from modernity, a world of purely aesthetic admiration.
An unfinished portrait of Bonaparte, 1897 (Louvre), is distinguished by its vitality and dramatic expressiveness. In this work there is neither a predetermined idea nor the completeness of the picture, which is usual for David.
In a completely different way, David paints an equestrian portrait of Bonaparte "Napoleon's Crossing the Alps." David now saw in Bonaparte only a victorious hero and accepted an order to portray him calmly on a rearing horse. However, Bonaparte refuses to pose: “Why do you need a model? Do you think that great people in ancient times posed for their images? Who cares if the similarity is preserved in the busts of Alexander. It is enough if his image corresponds to his genius. This is how great people should be written. David fulfills this desire and paints not a portrait, but rather a monument to the victorious commander. He seems to personify the famous phrase of Napoleon "I wanted to give France power over the whole world."
Tore in 1846 described this portrait: “This figure on a horse has been reproduced thousands of times in bronze and plaster, on mantel clocks and on rustic chests, with an engraver's chisel and pencil, on wallpaper and fabrics - in a word, everywhere. A skewbald horse, rearing up, flies over the Alps like a Pegasus of war.
In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte became emperor, and David received the title of "the first painter of the emperor." Napoleon demands the praise of the empire in art, and David, on his orders, writes two large compositions “The Coronation of the Emperor and Empress” (1806-1807; Louvre) and “The Oath of the Army to Napoleon after the Distribution of Eagles on the Field of Mars in December 1804” (1810; Versailles) .
The portrait remains the strong point of David's work until the end of his life, as for compositional works, then they, having lost their former revolutionary pathos, turn into cold academic paintings. Sometimes it strict style replaced by pretentious sophistication and prettiness, as, for example, in the painting "Sappho and Phaon" (1809; Hermitage).
In 1814, David completed the painting "Leonidas at Thermopylae" (Louvre), begun in 1800. In it, he still wanted to express a big idea, as he himself said about it - “love for the fatherland”, but in reality it turned out to be a cold academic composition. Classicism of the late 18th century, which replaced rocaille painting and responded to the revolutionary ideas of that time, was now becoming obsolete, turning into official art, and progressive artists were looking for new forms of expression, striving for passionate, truthful art. David objected to this new art: “I don’t want either movement imbued with passion, or passionate expression ...” However, new trends penetrated into David’s portrait art more and more insistently.
The years of reaction come, and in 1814 the Bourbons come to power. David is forced to emigrate, but despite this, in Paris, his students continue to honor the cult of the maestro and await his return: “Your oldest students still love you ...” - they write to David. During the period of emigration, along with inexpressive compositional works, such as Mars Disarmed by Venus (1824; Brussels, Royal Museum of Fine Arts), he creates a number of portraits painted in a different manner. The fine detail characterizes the portraits of the archaeologist Alexander Lenoir (1817; Louvre) and the actor Wolf (1819-1823; Louvre). And, on the contrary, in a generalized manner, works are written that can be called portraits of people who have lost illusions.
Thus, all the work of the period of the artist's revolution can be called idealistic, since the glorification of political values and civic duty in relation to their homeland reaches incredible heights. But, despite his so passionate love for her, the master ends his days without returning home. And as E. Delacroix would later say, “Instead of penetrating into the spirit of antiquity and combining its study with the study of nature, David clearly became an echo of an era for which antiquity was only a fantasy.”
CONCLUSION
Summing up this work, it should be noted that in his work, David embodied the main stages in the development of the aesthetic consciousness of France in one of the most heroic periods of its history, which determines the special place of his art in European culture generally.
However, David was not only famous painter. Having witnessed great historical events, he became an active participant in them, an outstanding figure in the Jacobin dictatorship and the Convention, a representative of the Bourbon monarchy that crushed the Bourbons, and the third estate that established its power, which created its own art style, the first outstanding master and head of which was David.
David's work is an art that is inextricably linked with a clear ideology, with a conscious desire to create a new art system corresponding new era.
And although the origins of David's art go back to the repertoire creative forms and plots characteristic of the second half of the 18th century, the master in his new version of classicism embodies with the utmost clarity the abstract civic ideals of the era of the bourgeois revolution. At the same time, it was he who laid the foundations for the realism of the new time, mainly in the portrait.
During the revolution, David's work was inspired by the progressive ideas of his time, which played a large political role in the history of France. Inspired by these ideas, David served the ideal of the revolution as a citizen and painter, setting an example of the organic and inseparable unity of the artist's creative and social activities. In those best years of his life, David creates works that glorified his name in the history of world art, and, on the contrary, we see how his art declines after the Thermidorian revolution.
Loyal to his class, which has already experienced a revolutionary upsurge, David renounces his revolutionary past, and in this renunciation the limitations of the entire revolution as a whole come through. Having unconditionally taken the side of Napoleon, seeing in him his new ideal, David in vain, however, tries to achieve with the help of skill alone what could only be created by inspiration gleaned from great events. And no matter how the master tried, but the "first painter of the emperor" could never be equal to the "first painter of the revolution."
And, nevertheless, if we characterize all of David's work, we can do it in the words of T. Gauthier, who noted that “David, whose glory for a moment was eclipsed by clouds of dust raised around the 1830s by the battle of romantics and classicists, we see henceforth a master whom no encroachment can belittle.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Submit an application indicating the topic right now to find out about the possibility of obtaining a consultation.Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) - famous French artist who had a great influence on the development classicism.
Jacques-Louis David was born into a wealthy Parisian family. When he was about nine years old, his father was killed in a duel. His mother provided him with an excellent education in one of best schools, but David studied poorly: he was always more absorbed in drawing. His uncle (a famous architect) and his mother wanted him to be an architect, but Jacques-Louis wanted to be an artist. David insisted on his own and turned to Francois Boucher, a well-known artist, an adherent of the Rococo style, for help. David enters the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture (modern Louvre).
Subsequently, David applied for a grant five times in order to go to Rome. But each time, the Academy commission denied him a scholarship. Once he even went on a hunger strike in protest. And finally, in 1774, David received this grant and in 1775 he went to Italy.
During the time that he lived in Italy, David studied the ruins of ancient Rome and ancient works of art. Jacques-Louis made 12 sketchbooks, this material he would use throughout his creative life. In Rome, he met great artists early classicism(It is worth noting the special influence). In 1779, David visited the ruins of ancient Pompeii, which impressed him greatly: after that, he set out to revolutionize the world of art, introducing undying principles.
Death of Seneca
Antiochus and Stratonic
Belisarius Begging for Alms
After five years in Rome, Jacques-Louis David returned to Paris, where he became a member of the Royal Academy. He presented two paintings, and both in 1781 were included in the exhibition, which was a great honor for any artist. His contemporaries admired his innovative ideas, but members of the Royal Academy considered him an upstart.
Later, the famous French artist married Marguerite-Charlotte Picol. This marriage brought him a small fortune. Despite the demand for his work in Paris, David aspires to Rome, believing that only there he can fully reveal himself as an artist.
In 1784, in Rome, David painted his famous painting The Oath of the Horatii. An oath between three sons and a father is an act of rallying the people in order to strengthen the state. Republican folk ideas become the semantic center of the canvas. The picture is divided into two parts, where the image of women contrasts strongly with the image of men: the soft female figures are smaller in size compared to the male ones, personifying strength and absolute discipline. This clear gender division was characteristic of the social doctrine of the time.
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Oath of the Horatii
In 1787 Jacques-Louis David applied for the position of director of the French Academy in Rome, but did not receive it.
In the same year, David presents the painting "The Death of Socrates", who was sentenced to death, but was calm, talking about the immortality of the soul. famous artists of that time, they appreciated the work, comparing the accuracy of its images with images on ancient bas-reliefs. The picture was very consonant with the brewing political currents.
While the French Revolution began in 1789, the National Assembly rushed to power, and the Bastille fell, Jacques-Louis David creates the painting “The Lictors Bring Brutus the Bodies of His Sons.”
Royal censorship carefully selected canvases for exhibitions in order to avoid a popular uprising. "Portrait of Lavoisier" by David, who was not only a chemist and physicist, but also an active member of the Jacobin movement, was banned by the authorities from showing. "The lictors bring the bodies of his sons to Brutus" was also forbidden. All images of this canvas are a kind of republican symbol, and, obviously, had great value for France. The painting depicts Lucius Junius Brutus, the Roman ruler, who is in deep anguish for his sons. They sought to seize power in order to restore the monarchy. Their father himself sentenced them to death in order to protect the Republic, even at the cost of the lives of his own sons. Brutus sits alone, apart from his wife and daughters, knowing that his act is the best thing he could do for his country - but still, tense legs and toes betray his inner turmoil. When informed that the government was not allowing the painting to be shown, people were outraged and the royals relented. The painting was shown at the exhibition.
Death of Socrates
Portrait of Monsieur Lavoisier and his wife
The lictors bring the bodies of his sons to Brutus.
Jacques-Louis David was a devoted supporter of the revolution, a friend of Robespierre and a member of the Jacobin Club. Jacques-Louis David, unlike those who left the country from the fires of the revolution, stayed to help destroy the old government, he voted for the execution of King Louis XVI of France (this was the reason for the divorce from his wife of other views). Some believe that it was during this period that David created his best works in the classical style. His personality played an important role here: ebullient temperament, emotionality, indefatigable enthusiasm, the desire for independence - all this was turned against the existing regime, as well as against the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, whose members did not approve of his works and republican positions (it was abolished by the artist).
Portrait of Count Stanislav Potocki
Andromache at the body of Hector
Portrait of Dr. Alfonso Leroy
Love of Paris and Helen
In 1789, Jacques-Louis David paints the painting “Oath on the ball field” (only a sketch of this painting has survived) - a symbol national unity against the old regime - this was an attempt to capture a historical moment in the history of the future republic.
But the heroes of 1789 became enemies in 1792 - there was a split between the conservatives and the radical Jacobins. The artist renounces the oath given on the tennis court. Since then, David leaves the radical methods of expressing his views, and strives for metaphor.
Oath on the ball court
In 1793, Jacques-Louis David paints the painting "Death of Marat". Marat, a member of the National Assembly, a journalist, a friend of David, was killed by an opposition party supporter, Charlotte Corday, with a knife. The artist quickly completed this picture, but the image of the murdered Republican turned out to be simple and powerful.
Death of Marat
After the execution of the French king, war broke out, the revolution was quite bloody. Jacques-Louis David was arrested and put in jail. It was there that he conceived his painting "Sobinyanki stopping the battle between the Romans and the Sobinyans" (or "The Intervention of the Sobinyanki") - this is the idea of the predominance of love over social armed conflicts. David conceived to create a new style for this painting - " Greek style", as opposed to the "Roman style" of his earlier history paintings.
The Sabines stopping the battle between the Romans and the Sabines (The Intervention of the Sabines)
On the Sunset revolutionary movement, his ex-wife managed to get David released from prison. He remarried her in 1796. Since that time, he spent quite a lot of time in his studio, studied with students, and for the most part retired from politics.
Portrait of the Marquise de Sorcy de Tolluson
Portrait of Pierre Serizia
Portrait of Madame Adelaide Pastore
Portrait of a jailer
Portrait of the Dutch envoy in Paris Jacobus Blauve
Portrait of Jean Bon Saint André
Portrait of Madame Emily Serizia and her son
Portrait of Madame de Verninac
Portrait of Georges Rouget
Portrait of Madame Recamier
A separate chapter of David's work was his attitude towards Napoleon Bonaparte - the artist was his admirer from their first meeting. After the proclamation of the Empire in 1804, Jacques-Louis David became the official court painter.
Napoleon at the Saint Bernard Pass
Emperor Napoleon in his study at the Tuileries
Zinaida and Charlotte Bonaparte
Consecration of Emperor Napoleon I and coronation of Empress Josephine in the Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris December 2, 1804
Jacques-Louis David - bright representative French classicism in painting. He came from the family of an iron wholesaler, but thanks to the influence of architect relatives, he began to try his hand at painting.
At a young age, Jacques-Louis David was trained by the representative of the artistic culture of Rococo Francois Boucher. But after studying in Rome, he succumbed to the influence of art ancient empire and began to work in an epic manner. It played its part positive role in the fate of the artist. At 80 XVIII years century in France, freedom-loving ideals and ideas were central. And when David returned to his homeland, he immediately found himself at the head of a movement that aimed to express all these ideals in a heroic incarnation, combining them with the "liberties" of Rococo. During this period, he created truly epic canvases that glorified heroism and self-sacrifice.
The glory of Jacques-Louis brought the painting "The Oath of the Horatii", written in 1784. The plot of the canvas is a scene from a Roman legend. According to legend, a dispute broke out between two warring cities - Rome and Alba Long, and three brothers from one city went to fight with three brothers from another. The Horatii, brothers from Rome, defeated the Curiatii, after which an alliance was created between the two cities. The artist also depicted how three brothers give a sacred oath to their father, who blesses them for a duel.
Jacques-Louis shared the ideas of the French Revolution. He took an active part in political life, was the organizer of mass folk festivals, and also created the National Museum in the Louvre. He was such a prominent personality that in 1804 he was appointed "first artist" by Napoleon. David also glorified the emperor in a number of paintings, moving from classicism to romanticism.
But after the return of the Bourbons, the artist had to leave for Brussels. It is a funny and tragic fact that the daughter of the aristocrat Lepeletier, being an ardent royalist, bought up all the reproductions of Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau on her deathbed and destroyed them. The reason for this act was the fact that David gave a decisive vote for the execution of the king. Having destroyed all the reproductions, the young aristocrat got to the original. She spent a lot of money to buy it from the artist's son, and then burned the original. Only one reproduction of a student of Jacques-Louis accidentally escaped the attention of a fanatical girl, and thanks to this we know what the canvas looked like.
All the paintings of the French painter breathe pathos and the epic scope of the actions taking place on the canvas. As an example, we can refer to the painting "The Sabines stopping the battle between the Romans and the Sabines", written in 1799. The name itself speaks of what Jacques-Louis David portrayed.
Women, in the hope of stopping the battle, bring their children to the center of the battle, blocking the militant sides with them. Central female character becomes Hersilia, wife of Romulus. She stood between her father and her husband, who had already raised his spear, trying to hit his father.
The artist sings of strength and beauty human body and praises the courage of women, depicting in detail their emotions and the horror that pushed them to such a desperate act.
Antique motifs, so skillfully embodied by David in painting, delight us to this day, allowing us to return to those distant times and immerse ourselves in the epic battles of ancient peoples.
