Oath of the Horatii by David Essay

Also, the painting lets us see the ideal of sacrificing. Sacrificing is not meant in the context of the Antiquity where it can mean actually sacrificing a human life, but as to bring a sacrifice. Everything must be sacrificed for the main ideal and in this case, that is the French Revolution. It is about the personal sacrifice for a ideological political situation. The Horatii brothers are willing to sacrifice their lives for the victory of Rome. Eventually, two brother sacrifice themselves for the greater good that is the city of Rome. Publius Horatio fights on and beats the Curatii, he fights for the ideal of the city of Rome. That same reasoning and interpretation can be made in relation with France and the French Revolution. The French people needs to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, according to David. The most important thing is that the ideals of the French Revolution keep existing and that there is no monarchy in France. (Khan Academy)

As stated in Oxford Art Online (2007), Jacques-Louis David 's Oath of the Horatii painting reiterated the enlightened “ideas of ... human rights, ... and moral rectitude” (par. 2). The concept of country first then family, connected the necessary priority for the French people; some families will suffer lost that others might be free. During a period when France became bankrupt, the narcissistic, luxurious lifestyles of the aristocracy emboldened the “heroism of sacrifice” (Harris and Zucker, 2016, trx.). The painting focused on the principle of dying for one 's country for freedom; which directly connected to the agitations for

The statue of David, completed by Michelangelo in 1504, is an easily recognizable symbol to people not only in Florence, but from all around the world. The David has a special meaning for Florentines, and is a symbol of what the city strives to be; strong, courageous, and youthful. The sculpture tells the tale of the battle between David and Goliath. David, a young boy at the time, was angered at the way Goliath was treating the Israelis and stood up to the giant feat of taking on Goliath. With a simple slingshot and stone, he defeated the angry giant, and became a symbol of liberty. The story shows that anything can be done with the help of God. David is not only the most well-known sculpture in the world, but is housed in one of the

As we examine the heroes of the faith outlined for us in the Old Testament, we would be hard pressed to find a more faithful man that King David. After the death of King Saul, David became the King of the Hebrew people. David, who was meek and pious, steadfastly believed in the true God and tried to do His will. He had endured much persecution from Saul and other enemies but did not become bitter, did not lift his hand against Saul, as he was the Lord’s anointed, but placed all his hope in God, and the Lord delivered him from all his enemies.

The city of Florence has gone through many invaders, illnesses and many other deaths not related to the battlefield. They had survived it all they believed that they had God on their side and have always come out on top, much like the biblical story of David in battle against Goliath. This influenced Florence to take on David as their symbol and used it to portray the success of Florence. Many artists have created sculptures portraying works of David. It has been depicting it in so many different manners, that there is at least one surviving example from each major art periods. Although there are many we will only be focusing on two works of David. First is Donatello’s classically inspired youthful boy depiction of David, and the second is Bernini’s heroic warrior.

Claude Vignon’s work called David with the Head of Goliath, is an interpretation of the artist Caravaggio’s original masterpiece, which shows art’s familiar paradigm, every painter paints himself. His motivation for creating this piece was from visiting rome in 1610, he was influenced by Caravaggism, which was art inspired in the style of Caravaggio. “Some art historians regard him as a precursor of Rembrandt.” Painted circa 1620-1623, it is an oil on canvas, made in Paris, France, 133.7 cm x 98 cm (52 5/8 in. x 38 9/16 in.). “Vignon was a French painter, printmaker and illustrator, and, in 1623, was one of the most respected, productive, and successful artists in France, in which his patrons were king Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu.” He was born into a wealthy family and started art lessons when he was a young boy. A theme could be religious rebellion against others who were seen as powerful such as Goliath, and were not fit to be in power.

The Chansons de Geste are epic poetry from French literature around the time of Charlemagne that myth logically told the stories of paladins, knights, and lords. An illumination from this manuscript called Roland Fealty (attached) shows Roland, a well-known leader of the time pledging his allegiance, or fealty, to Charlemagne as a vassal pledging his allegiance to his lord. Roland and his men have one hand in the air and are depicted as knights with swords on their sides, as is customary of leaders during this time. Charlemagne’s face is full of strength and wisdom as he embodies the characteristics of an ideal leader. The piece is similar to other well-known works from the time such as the Ottonian Otto III enthroned. The transitional piece of the Limbourg brothers October from Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry depicts the vassals working in the fields while the castle in the background shows the prevalence of feudalism even in the early 15th century. The statue David by Donatello was patronized by the Medici family and depicts David from the Biblical David and Goliath story in which tiny David kills the giant with only a stone. David was a moral figure for Florence because he represented them earlier during this time in which they were living under threat of invasion by King Ladislaus. The Medici’s chose to patronize another statue of him, perhaps to revive humanism even more. During this time, the Medici family was coming to power in

When thinking of sculptures, one of the first that comes to mind is David. This statue was created of marble between 1501 and 1504 and stands over 14 feet high. David is a symbol that represents strength and anger. The statue had intended political connotations for the ruling of the Medici family. Michelangelo used David as model of "heroic courage" to demonstrate that "spiritual strength can be more effective than arms". Michelangelo insisted that David should stand as a symbol of the republic and act as a warning that Florence shall be governed justly and bravely". This was the first time since antiquity that a large nude statue be exhibited in a public place.

The art piece created by Claude Vignon , “David with the Head of Goliath” has three important elements that are vital towards the piece in order to portray a message of power and authority. Which are the focal point, proportions, and the contrast of this particular piece. The artwork is oil on canvas that was made around in 1593-1670. The subject matter of the artwork is depicting the moment of pride David had with the head of the giant Goliath being laid next to his small body. The portrait of David is seen on the viewers middle left side, while the head of Goliath is in the middle right side next to David’s. David is seen wearing clothes that appear to be a size to big on him, to the point where the shirt is slipping from his shoulder (exposing his left shoulder). The clothes themselves are interpreted as royal clothing, having a big headpiece located in the top half of the painting. With the exposed shoulder being leaned forward on, in his left hand David holds a silver sword that is seen to to take

The background plot for the painting was borrowed from the Corneille’s play, Horace. The approximate symmetry of the painting becomes more prominent in the case when the viewer knows the story of the Corneille’s play. It is essential to refer to the fact that there is a difference between the right and left sides not only in terms of physical composition, but more than that, various emotional connotations are depicted by each ones.

Philosopher Arthur Danto, author of “The Artworld,” an artistic criticism, states that “to see something as art requires something that the eye cannot descry—an atmosphere of artistic theory, a knowledge of the history of art: an artworld” (201). Artistic theory, according to Danto, requires the presence of a subject, style, rhetorical ellipses, and that of historical context. Danto is capable of developing this view on art with the aid of an imaginary character, Testadura. Testadura, however, makes mistakes, as well as corrections, about the objects before him.

Because of the facial features portrayed on the face of the statue of David, it is suggested that Michelangelo sculpted David to portray him after his decision to fight Goliath was made but not before the actual battle took place. Michelangelo kept the Renaissance practice of keeping its subjects in a calm position, by depicting David’s action before the battle in his statue.

‘The avant-garde understands itself as invading unknown territory, exposing itself to the dangers of sudden, shocking encounters, conquering an as yet unoccupied future ... The avant-garde must find a direction in a landscape into which no one seems to have yet ventured.’

In the center of the painting is Plato on the left and Aristotle on the right. These two are showing the two parts within philosophy, Timaeus and Ethics. The other philosophers on the sides are ‘corresponding to the separate schools of thought within the two major divisions, each carrying on the philosophical arguments for which they were famous (Fleming, 304). Plato: (428-c. 347 BC) was a Greek philosopher and one of the most creative and influential thinkers in Western philosophy. Plato founded the Academy in Athens, the institution often described as the first European

David was a supporter of the French Revolution and this may be his political influence on the painting even though Napoleon was a son of the Revolution as well.