Art Sunday; Signs and Hidden Messages.
OR…. How Napoleon and others Manipulated the Media.
Before
any one starts reading this, an apology, I hadn’t realised how long I
had sat here, or how much I had written, I have been having fun, and
this has inadvertently turned into somewhat of an
epic!.......opps........sorry
Jacques-Louis David (August 30, 1748 – December 29, 1825).
David
was a French painter, thought to be the most influential painter of his
time. David had a huge number of pupils, making him one of the
strongest influences in French art of the 19th century. He became an
active supporter of the French Revolution and friend of Robespierre, and
was (for a while until Robespierre fell from grace) effectively a
dictator of the arts under the French Republic.
The Death of Marat, David's masterpiece.
The Death of Marat (1793)
On
the 13th of July 1793, David's friend Marat was assassinated by a woman
called Corday, who was of an opposing political party. It’s her name,
among others, that can be seen in the note Marat holds in David's
painting. Due to a skin condition Marat, a member of the assembly and a
journalist, lived most of his life in his bath. The bath was the only
place he could find relief from the itching. He had a makeshift writing
desk constructed over his bath and it was here he sat composing lists of
‘counter revolutionaries’ who, once the list was released, would be
rapidly tried and almost always found guilty and guillotined. Corday
assassinated Marat in his bath by fatally stabbing him. Hence the
painting……………’The Death of Marat’, a powerful representation of Marat
laying dead in his bath, note of suspects in hand. This image rapidly
became the instantly recognisable symbol of Marat, David, The Terror and
the Revolution itself. David effectively made Marat a martyr to the
cause of the revolution with this image. Marat is portrayed
realistically but lifeless, the figure resembles a stereotypical
classical representation of Christ at the crucifixion. Ironic in the
face of both David’s and Marat’s steadfast atheism, an almost obligatory
belief for true Republicans of the time. This image portrays a man
almost revered by the revolution but in keeping with the revolutions
creed. There are no trappings of wealth and luxury, no ostentatious
décor, no reference to status, no military paraphernalia, just a
beautiful corpse laying in an almost supernatural pose, dramatically
shadowed by a mysterious light. We don’t see the light source but it
seems to stream in from behind, illuminating parts of the body, the
head, the shoulders, but leaving much of it in darkness. The
light passes over the body and hits the dark background. This creates a
pale area, almost a halo effect that you expect to see surrounding an
angel, except of course there is no angel, just a slight suggestion that
there could be. The white drapes behind the body are stained with his
blood; they hang in folds under the body reminiscent of the shroud of
Christ. If you doubt the similarities between David’s portrayal of Marat
and classical images of Christ compare it to The Pietà (1499) by
Michelangelo, a marble sculpture in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Look at the angle of the arm, the way the body lays and the folds of cloth flowing from under the body.
The symbolism in Marat is more than a portrait of a man in the style of Christ. There is so much more in this painting. Marat’s
desk becomes his tombstone, his list of counter revolutionaries his
epitaph, even in death he hangs on to his quill telling us he was a
thinking man of letters right to the end. David
and Marat were both ardent atheists but like other reformers seemed to
create a new kind of religion centered on the republic. This painting
could be seen as the forerunner of all political propaganda paintings as
used in later centuries by Lenin, Mussolini and even Hitler.
Jacques-Louis David
Napoleon Crossing the Saint Bernard Pass
David
had been an admirer of Napoleon from their first meeting, struck by the
then-General Bonaparte's classical features. As an artist that sort of
thing was obviously very important. After Napoleon's successful ‘coup d'etat’ in 1799, he commissioned a painting by David to commemorate his ‘daring’ crossing of the Alps.
It was this painting that persuaded Napoleon to appoint David as the
official court painter of the regime. The crossing of St. Bernard Pass
was an important military manoeuvre, it had paved the way for the French
to surprise the Austrian army and win victory at the Battle of Marengo on June 14, 1800. Napoleon HAD actually crossed the Alps, and the crossing WAS
at Saint Bernard’s Pass. But that is where reality and the painting
part company. Napoleon rode on the back a placid mule, in weather that
was calm and warm. He asked to be painted as man "calm upon a fiery
steed", and this is exactly what David did. There are black stormy
clouds billowing in the background, the terrain is rugged and
inhospitable, the white stallion rears up against the howling wind, the
horses mane and Napoleons cloak compete for the attentions of the wild
winds. AND, amid this carefully composed chaos sits Napoleon, tall,
proud and unflinching on his steed. He is every inch the powerful
leader, completely in control of every thing, the situation, his horse
and even the weather. An interesting compasisom in this painting is the
face of the horse and the face of Napoleon. If you look at the horse his
eyes are wild, his mane flies wildly in the wind, his mouth is open,
his teeth are bared, he is one spooked horse. Then look at Napoleons
face and you see a man perfectly poised, his hat is set at exactly the
right angle, it has managed to escape the effects of the storm. He is
handling this rearing stallion with one hand and manages with ease to
hold the other hand high above his head in a perfect victorious salute.
There is more symbolism here, the hand held above his head points upward
and forward, symbolising his advancing and unstoppable victory. Jacques-Louis David
The Coronation of Napoleon, (1808)
Jacques-Louis
David. Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of the
Empress Josephine in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on 2 December
One of the works David was commissioned for was The Coronation of Napoleon in Notre Dame.
For his background, David had the choir of Notre Dame as his fill-in
characters. At this point in Napoleons life he still associated Victory,
Emperorship and power with the ancient classicism of Rome and Greece.
His coronation robes were modelled on the robes of ancient emperors.
His coronation ‘crown’ was modelled on the laurels of Rome, the colours
in this painting tend to be rich reds and gold, the drapes would look at
home in any classical painting and the architecture fits with the
ancient classical theme. The whole tone of this painting says …. ‘’this
is the new emperor, a emperor as good as any ancient emperor and worthy
of all the respect and power of the ancient emperors’’ At this time
(in France) Napoleon was always depicted, in keeping with his
propaganda image, amid classical architecture and furnishings, all of
which he admired and believed it enhanced his image as the new Emperor.
This image was portrayed by David in several of his paintings of
Napoleon. David also used battle standards in various paintings to
symbolise Napoleon as victorious in battle.
Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson
Neoclassical Painter, 1767-1824
Ossian Receiving the Generals of Napoleon at the Palace of Odin (1801),
One of David's students, Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson, although very obviously influenced by Davids classicism and emotive use of subject, injected a new element of romanticism into his work. Girodet-Trioson let his literary interest take full reign in the composition of Ossian Receiving the Generals of Napoleon at the Palace of Odin (1801), painted for Napoleon's
residence, Malmaison. Much of Anne-Girodet’s work, including the series
for Malmaison, glorifies Napoleon. His classical training sometimes
very obviously clashed with his romantic expression.
This
painting does not portray Napoleon in the strictest sense but it
portrays his changing cultural philosophy, and the leading figure bears
more than a passing resemblance to him. It has been included because it
is a portrayal of Napoleons Nationalism and his newly discovered desire
to see France as an independent Nation with a history, culture,
mythology and true sense of identity equal too, or even superior too
that of Southern Europe. Although originally committed to presenting
himself as a ‘Roman’ type Emperor, Napoleon soon embraced the newer
Nordic mythology and, as he had previously used art to present himself
as a modern day ‘Roman Emperor’, he began using it in exactly the same
way to present himself as the new ‘Nordic Warrior’.
In
Napoleonic France paintings depicting North European mythology and
legend became a popular way to enhance the growing concept of a uniquely
Northern European culture. Northern myth offered a history and sense of
identity, which was separate from but equal to, the classical roots of
ancient Greece and Rome. All peoples of Europe
shared these same classical roots. The use of Celtic and Nordic legends
allowed the peoples of Northern Europe to express their cultural
separateness from those of Southern Europe. Artists used these mythologies in a way that competed with Rome for cultural superiority.
Macpherson
was a Scottish Enlightenment thinker and writer, he wrote the Ossian
mythology in the 1760’s, which was translated into French, German and
Italian. This book became a favourite of Napoleons and nurtured
Napoleons fascination with Northern mythology. Napoleon became very
attracted to paintings of this kind, which acted as an incentive to
those who produced them, and the theme became very popular. This painting shows Ossian receiving the ghosts of French warriors in the palace of Odin.
The painting supports the notion that the ancient northern heroes were
superior to or at least equal to the heroes of popular Greek and Roman
mythology.
In this painting the French Napoleonic soldiers carry a helmet and a symbolic eagle captured from Rome,
which shows victory, even in death. The leading soldier in the
foreground is modelled on Napoleon himself. Reinforcing the notion of
virility, the ghosts of the French soldiers retain the ability and
desire to chase the Oceanic maidens. There is a combination of culture
and symbolism, it incorporates French, Scottish and Gaelic elements. The
importance of this and other paintings depicting North European legend
was the complete break with classical traditions of ancient Greece and
Rome and the emergence of a distinct cultural heritage belonging to
North Europe. The historical legitimacy of the stories became secondary
to their impact on the growing tide of Nationalism, which swept Northern Europe.
It was not only the content that broke with tradition; the composition
was also radically different from paintings in the traditional classical
style.
The
specific relevance to Napoleon of this painting, besides the symbolic
representation of him in the foreground, is the emphasis on France as a
Nation with National traditions, myths, legends and culture utterly
independent from, and even superior too, those of the old orders.
(Belgian, b. 1778 - d. 1830)
Lord Byron on his deathbed as depicted by Joseph-Denis Odevaere c.1826 Oil on canvas
With this painting we seem to have come full circle from 'death of Marat'.This artist was another of Davids students, who possibly paid him the greatest accolade of all with this painting of Lord Byron. This painting is so very obviously intended to mimic Davids ‘Death of Marat’, painted 23 years earlier. Lord Byron on his death bed has so many stories to tell, painted just one year after David’s own death in 1825, it was a tribute to a great Artist, teacher and friend. By reproducing it in this way Joseph Denis validates David’s original story telling and pays homage himself to the revolutionary Marat. By associating Byron with Marat he is recognising Byrons role in the Greek War of Independence and portraying him as a true revolutionary in the same league as Marat. This painting is back to the classicism of Rome, Byron has a roman laurel wreath in his hair, the Laurel was the roman symbol for Victory, the window looks out on classical architecture, the bed is a classical tomb and the statue at Byrons head is engraved in Greek. Marat was painted holding on to his quill but Byron is shown with his lute still tucked under his arm and his sward resting on the head of the bed. Although politically committed to the cause of Greek independence first and foremost Byron was a romantic Poet, as shown by the Lute still under his arm and the sward present but not foremost. The drapes over the bed conceal Byron’s deformed foot showing him as physically perfect, rather than the beautiful but crippled man he was. The drapes over Byron echo the shroud like drapes behind Marat, continuing the association with a religious painting in a completely non-religious subject.
I think these five paintings are all absolutely brimming with symbolism, signs and hidden meanings. They are paintings that can be ‘read’ as well as ‘seen’. ‘Reading’ a painting is exciting and interesting but part of the beauty of these works is that even if you just glance at them, maybe you see them in a book, or on the net, or if you are lucky enough, in a gallery, you can enjoy them just as a visual treat. To enjoy a book you NEED to ‘read’ it, but to enjoy a painting you only need look at it, reading it as well is a bonus.
Add a Comment
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acousticeagle wrote on Aug 31, '08
Of
all the neo classical painters I have admired David the most. I just
love the nobility of the poses, and as the horse is often portrayed this
way, another reason to like neo classicism. A large canvas of such
nobility is going to make people look up at it in awe and put across the
publicity message. The death of Marat has always been one of my
favourite paintings.
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Excellent
and delightful post. I have long been interested in symbolism, I nearly
tear apart movies, dissecting the symbolism. I have been most
fortunate to have seen most of the art included here. To a large
degree, the symbolism 'jumps at' the viewer, especially in those
paintings that were somewhat politically motivated. However, there is
also a feast of searching for the smallest detail. So much so, that one
begins to wonder if a detail was intended, or is it coincidental. The
one painting that I am the most familiar with is 'Ossian Receiving the
Generals of Napoléon at the Palace of Odin.' I believe that the
original is in The Louvre. There was (is?) a wonderful full sized copy
at the Château de Malmaison. As you said, it was the home of Napoléon
and Joséphine, then subsequently became Joséphine's home, after the
marriage ended. The Château is located in the old village of Rueil and
when I was there, tours were easy to come by and inexpensive, one New
Franc (20 cents - US then.) I had many opportunities to study the
painting
, A friend lives near Rueil-Malmaison, which is not far from where I lived in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Sunday afternoons were often spent touring the house and then a picnic on the grounds. The old barrack of the Swiss Guard is also located there, so it made for a full day with something old to be newly discovered each time. It made a perfect inexpensive afternoon, during the tourist off-season. I was delighted to see this tonight. I so completely agree with your approach to viewing art. Looking at a painting or a sculpture is one thing, seeing it, is something else again. A visual feast for sure, as is your work here. Thank you and I am so pleased that I waited until I had enough time to truly enjoy. |
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greenwytch wrote on Jul 26, '08
very impressive and brilliantly done, loretta! thanks for this, what a fascinating read!
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wickedlyinnocent wrote on Jul 26, '08
I
love reading paintings and other works of art. My father taught me how
to do it, first time I was taken to museums and art galleries I was just
a child. I did the same to my children , they started visiting museums
and reading artworks at a very early age. As a result, João is an
admirer of David. his favourite painting by this artist is The
Consecration of Emperor Napoleon and I remember the first time he saw it
at the Louvre, we stayed there for a long time , there was so much to
see and read. Great blog Loretta, and yes, all those works, not only
David's, are brimming with symbolism. Have a great Saturday, hugs.
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