Oath Of The Horatii Analysis

Impressionists and Baudelaire had similar views on what they wanted the modern painter to achieve. “By ‘modernity’ I mean the ephemeral, the fugitive, the contingent, the half of art whose other half is the eternal and the immutable.”(Baudelaire FYP Handbook 67) writes Baudelaire as he whims on the artist’s goal--

Many artists attempt to be “avant-garde”, to present something new to the world; such as artists from the Cubist time period, Braque and Picasso. They are known for not including a clear perspective and for having geometric shapes. There are also avant-garde artists who refer back to the past for inspiration; for example Neoclassicism (Oath of the Horatii by David) and Renaissance (School of Athens by Raphael) both include Greek and Roman coalition. Avant-garde artists show the viewer’s their uniqueness and ambition in presenting something new while incorporating older traditions or just simply going past the modern world and creating something new.

Art has progressed in many ways throughout history; two prominent styles however that define the evolution of art are Realism and Impressionism. Realism is defined as “treatment of forms, colors, space, etc., in such a manner as to emphasize their correspondence to actuality or to ordinary visual experience”(realism). Two artists that are well known for this style of art are Gustave Courbet and Jean-François-Millet. Impressionism is defined as “a style of painting developed in the last third of the 19th century, characterized chiefly by short brushstrokes of bright colors in immediate juxtaposition to represent the effect of light on objects”(impressionism). Claude Monet and Pierre Auguste Renoir are pioneers of defining the Impressionist movement. These artists use a variety of techniques, perspectives, subject matter, as well as influences to create the art we see hanging in museums today.

Modern is a term that can hold many different meanings. In order for something to be modern it must be created or inspired by the experiences of living in modernity. A period of social, political, and economic change that began in the eighteenth century. Since the definition of modern is so broad it allows for lots of controversy about whether or not something is necessarily modern. When it comes to modern art this especially is an issue. In most of the worlds eyes modern art is a european practice that came from artists like Van Gogh and his contemporaries. But in reality many other artists and cultures developed their own forms of modern art. Many Native North American artists participated in this movement of modernism, using the same conceptual

In the scope of this paper two works of art would be compared and contrasted - David’s Oath of the Horatii and Painting of Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride by Van Eyck.

The Oath of the Horatii is a painting painted by a French artist Jacques-Louis David, painted in 1784. When looking at the painting you will see, an older man holding up three swords to three younger men, the 3 younger men have helmets on, the one on the far right is holding a spear, all three of them are reaching out to the three swords. Behind the older man holding up the swords, is three women, the women located in the far left is holding two children, one baby, and another child in her arms, she appears to be older than the other two women. Their is a mop on the ground in between the two women on the right that are sitting down in chairs. All three women appear to be weeping.

Art was rapidly changing. Beginning with the Impressionists, art slowly moved away from classical teachings and subjects. After the Impressionists came Post-Impressionism, which had many similarities with Impressionism. Following Post-Impressionism came another game-changer. Fauvism, with its bright, clashing colors, distorted form, and vigorous brushstrokes, was rejected at first. Critics despised the work, calling it "the naive and brutal efforts of a child playing with its paintbox. Eventually the short-lived movement gained some support. More importantly, though, it paved the way for modern art. The possibilities were endless. Two paintings exhibit the unrestrained work of modern artists: "Guernica" and "No. 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist)".

There are two major strands throughout the Neo-Classical period. These strands consist of a) the desire to reach back into history to the Classical Age of Greece and Rome and b) the reaction to the excesses of Rocco period towards the end of the Baroque period. During the French Neo-Classicism, David created the "Oath of the Horatii". According to our books, it claims this piece of art was the death of Rocco and the birth of a new era of art called the Neo-Classical art. In the book, it explains the portrait symbolizes, three brothers promising to protect Rome, even if it meant dying. The men are ready to fight with their father. If one is to observe the picture, they would notice the men have costumes and helmets on. The father is the

Abstract expressionism, was a movement in American painting that flourished in the 1940s and 1950s, often referred to as the New York School or as Action Painting. Abstract expressionism according to Katy Siegel was a “creative earthquake that altered the landscape of modern art”. This movement had been considered as especially ‘American’ in style, this was because of its attention to the physical adjacency of paint. It had allowed artists to break away from accepted conventions in both technique and subject matter. Abstract expressionism was quite a successful movement and in is success allowed New York to become the centre of modern art at the time, a title previously held by Paris. The works of the movement where highly abstracted, this was used to convey strong emotional or

Inspirational works of art, such as the Oath of the Horatii, will forever be remembered throughout history. It was unique in that it inspired two revolutions: the emergence of the neoclassical style and the French Revolution. This progressive piece was painted in 1784 by the French artist Jacques-Louis David, who looked to the classics as guidance for his work. The results embodied the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment, which was at its peak in the 1700s. Ironically, although it was originally commissioned by the Administrator of Royal Residences, the Oath became a piece of anti-monarchy propaganda ("Jacques-Louis David").

Content: Impressionism is a 19th-century art movement that originated in Paris. A few painters that were know for impressionism were Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, and Frédéric Bazille, who influenced each other and worked together. Mary Cassatt portrait shows that she mastered impressionism, due to her brushwork and sketch like finish and the way she painted Mrs. Scott’s hand holding the teapot with the seriousness on her face.

The post impressionist period gave us some of the greatest painters in modern art history. These artist created some of the most expressive paintings during a time when their various styles allowed them to do so. They used both past artist and their fellow artist to influence them to create new works of art. Paul Cezanne was one of the most influential artist in modern history (Voorhies, 2004). His painting The Large Bathers served as an inspiration for other artist to follow.

His impact was so significant that Rodin’s work is often classified as Impressionist art simply because it rebelled against the academic and classical ideas of art and sculpting, as many Impressionist artists did

Impressionist painting was the beginning of a cultural shift away from religious and mythic themes, to subjects and styles that are less static such as everyday life of the general people, and the fleeting moments around them. As history progresses, so does art and the movements they create. The impressionism movement started in an already war-ravaged France where the evolution of ideals and way of life were as impermanent as the subject of the paintings of the time.

Oath of the Horatii is life size oil on canvas painting that is about thirteen feet wide by