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The Death Of Germanicus By Charles Poussin

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Early Baroque styles of the 17th and 18th centuries such as Neoclassicism differ greatly from the realism and impressionism of the modernist movement. Modernism was embraced by a group of artist that believed they should express what was real to them the way they saw it with freedom and individualism. These artist worked against the limiting artistic pillars of Classicism that was taught and promoted by The French Academy. These modern techniques were considered taboo to art critics and even French leadership at the time such as Napoleon III and The Academy. The Academy rejected these non-classical works from the public sphere by not including them in the Salon, hiding them away from public opinion and other artist that should be inspired by …show more content…

This piece is one of Poussin’s first works created during his studies in Rome. Poussin uses oil on canvas to depict an idealized and ghostly looking Germanicus shrouded in white on his deathbed. He is said to be the heroic victim of poisoning by the Emperor Tiberius. The scene encompasses three distinct points that tell the story of Germanicus demise. Claude Monet’s Boulevard des Capucines is also an oil on canvas painting from 1873-74. Monet’s French Impressionist painting is a depiction of the busy streets of the boulevard in Paris, based on the famous photograph by Felix Nadar. Now that photography has become an invention realistic paintings that mimic the reality of a scene are not necessary. Artist are given the freedom of modernism to express rather than record instances in time. This piece is quite famous due to its rejection by The Academy leaving it out of the Salon de Paris in its …show more content…

He sees the bustle of the city through atmospheric perspective from overhead. This, along with the diagonal directions of the commuters bring spurts of color throughout the piece also adding into the movement which gives the image the energy that could have otherwise been taken away from the muted seasonal winter tones. Also in opposition of the ideal and traditional he displays the light of a winter day that seems almost sketchy with blurred strokes. Critiques revoked this type of technique calling it incomplete and a poor excuse for academic artwork as it did not depict a historical or mythological scene nor was it romanticized by allegorical meaning but instead factual characteristics such as time and space. Aside from the obvious technique of Poussin this work carries metaphor and allegorical meaning within. A story of death is juxtaposed by the same grieving men carrying weapons that also cause death. Meanwhile, the sheer size and open composition above the action packed seen allows the audience to feel a level of grandeur and omniscient perspective almost honoring the dead by showing the importance through scale. This is emphasized by the traditional detail and minutia the artist puts into the architecture, clothing, and other key aspects of the painting that denote the context. Poussin sets the event in concrete

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