Jacque Louis David
Oath of the Horatii
1784-85
Group Discussion
Refer to the given artwork, ask yourself / your group:
• What do you see?
• What do you think about that?
• What does it make you wonder?
Neo-Classicism
ROMANTICISM
ROMANTICISM -- ARTISTS

Francisco Jose de Goya (Spanish)
Theodore Gericault (French)
 Eugene Delacroix (French)

John Constable (English)
 Joseph Turner (English)


Casper Friedrich (German)
Francisco Goya
The Third of May, 1808
1814
Oil on canvas
Francisco Goya
THE THIRD OF MAY, 1808

Strategic use of a composition that divides the painting into halves
diagonally. By having the man in the white shirt brightly illuminated,
Goya established him as the main focus. Moreover, the guns are pointed
towards this man. Due to the lighting, the man is painted using very flat
colours, which in turn, made him more prominent than the rest.
Francisco Goya
THE THIRD OF MAY, 1808

The French firing squad had their side profile facing us, their faces hidden.
Dressed similarly with a similar pose, they appear oblivious to the horror
experienced by the prisoners. Their uniforms made them look insect-like;
their long and sharp swords adds to their menacing stance.

The use of a dark grey sky adds onto the gloomy atmosphere
Theodore Gericault
Raft of the Medusa
1819
Theodore Gericault
RAFT OF THE MEDUSA

Depicted helpless passengers and crew of the French ship, Medusa.
They were shown in varied poses – some kneeling with their hands
stretched out; some lying down, some looking up to the sky. Together,
we see twisting forms and tilting diagonals
Eugene Delacroix
Liberty Leading the People
1830
Eugene Delacroix
Liberty Leading the People
1830
Eugene Delacroix
Liberty Leading the People
1830
Casper Friedrich
Cloister Graveyard in the Snow
1810
Oil on canvas
Joseph Turner
Rain, Steam and Speed
1844
Oil on canvas
ROMANTICISM

An art movement that developed at the end of 18th
century to mid 19th century

Reacted and moved away from the rationalism of
Neo-Classicism towards the more subjective
aspect of human experience.
ROMANTICISM – MAIN CONCERN
Feelings = Both the subject & object of Art

Importance of feelings and self-expression
“Imagination abandoned by reason produces
impossible monsters; united with it, she is the
mother of the arts and the origin of source of
their wonders.”
Francisco Goya
Francisco Goya
THE THIRD OF MAY, 1808

Depicted the execution of Spanish loyalists by Napoleon’s troops
when the French occupied the city

French troops / soldiers are shown lined up at the right; pointing their
rifles towards the group of prisoners on the left.

Prisoners are shown helpless – one man in white shirt has both his
arms raised and he is being illuminated clearly such that we can see
his traumatized expression. To his left and right, other prisoners
huddle around each other, some covered their faces with their
hands, others looked defiant. Some of the prisoners lie dead on the
ground covered with blood stains.

In the far distance, we see a building (maybe a church) against a
dark sky
Francisco Goya
THE THIRD OF MAY, 1808


Exposed the prisoners’ plight by illuminating their desperation, fear and
helplessness by the lampshade needed in the early dawn for the soldiers to
hit their marks
Despite its origins in a historical event, Goya made this painting go beyond
the specific references and is a stark portrayal of man’s inhumanity to man
Further reading -- http://www.artmuseums.com/goya.htm
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/G/goya/may_3rd.jpg.html
“With the brush we merely tint, while the
imagination alone produces colour.”
Theodore Gericault
THEODORE GERICAULT
Decapitated Heads
c.1818

Painted
contemporary
events as an
exploration of the
passionate
emotions and truths
that underlie them.

Fascinated by
violence and horror
Theodore Gericault
RAFT OF THE MEDUSA

When the ship wrecked near Senegal in July 1816, the passengers were
placed aboard a raft and cut adrift by the captain. At the time of the rescue
only 15 of the 149 passengers and crew members were still alive.

A notorious event, involving political corruption and scandal, since the
incompetent captain owed his job to his allegiance to the French monarchy.
It was the type of horrific subject that interested Gericault and his
contemporaries
Theodore Gericault
RAFT OF THE MEDUSA

The ordeal of the victims involved a struggle against the forces of nature,
shown in the painting by the immense stormy sea and the powerless
occupants of the raft.

The unequal struggle of man against nature was a theme that fascinated
many of the Romantic artists.

Made use of dramatic lighting relationship – powerful light and dark
contrasts, to emphasize the plight of the passengers
Theodore Gericault
RAFT OF THE MEDUSA

Gericault’s concept was to make the contemporary
tragedy into something monumental and heroic. He
made an intensive study of the disaster – he depicted
the occupants of the raft just as they sighted the
rescue ship on the horizon – which included acts of
cannibalism and mutiny. In preparation for this work,
Gericault interviewed some of the victims and had the
carpenter built a model of the ship for him to study.
Further reading -http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/detail_notice.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673236500&C
URRENT_LLV_NOTICE%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673236500&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696
500815&bmLocale=en
Theodore Gericault
RAFT OF THE MEDUSA

For the composition and poses of the men and women,
Gericault referred to the works of Raphael and Michelangelo.
Thus the final work was grand in scale and conception.
Michelangelo
Rebellious Slave
1513-6
Marble
Raphael
Transfiguration
1516 - 20
“A picture is nothing but a bridge between the
soul of the artist and that of the spectator.”
“Everyone knows that yellow, orange, and red
suggest ideas of joy and plenty.”
Eugene Delacroix
EUGENE DELACROIX

Fascinated by the exotic, both of the past and
present

Works characterized by rich, brilliant colour,
energetic brushwork and dramatic / emotive
subject matter
Eugene Delacroix
LIBERTY LEADING THE PEOPLE

Not a realistic depiction of what happened in actuality but an allegory of
revolution

Liberty – a partly nude, majestic woman (with an expression of noble
dignity), wearing a cap and holding up a French flag, waves the people
forward. In her left arm, she carries a bayonet.

She is striding over the dead/dying people. Around her are the bold
revolutionaries. The towers of Notre Dame is seen in the background amidst
the smoke & clamour.
Eugene Delacroix
LIBERTY LEADING THE PEOPLE

The clutter of the sprawling bodies in the foreground provides a base to
support the figures in the central ground. This builds up the frantic energy
from the heavy and the inert.

The light flashes like the fire of guns, and the darks mingle freely with the
lights. The gestures of the figures form swirls which generates a sense of
tumultuous excitement.