During the French Revolution, many significant events took place. The beheadings of King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette, along with thousands of their aristocratic followers in 1792, was a pretty significant one because it meant the end of the terrible monarchy that was ruling over France. However, the change in the arts that the Revolution brought was probably the most important of all. From 1789-late 1790s, the people had enough of their country being bankrupt, and desperately wanted to limit the powers of the king, thusly creating a constitution. When the constitution failed, the revolutionists reached their breaking points and removed the king and his wife Marie Antoinette from office, and ultimately beheaded them. Any aristocrats that supported the monarchy was beheaded as well, resulting in thousands of deaths by the Guillotine-an apparatus created so the beheadings that were done would be considered more “humane”, named after Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotine, who proposed the use of it for the executions during the Revolution. (Khan Academy, n.d.). During this time, artists wanted a way to portray the suffering and agony they were experiencing. The former Rococo style was too whimsical and unrealistic, its main purpose being to entertain and amuse those of higher status, such as the aristocrats. Revolution artists needed something more practical to show the true society rather than a utopian one. Thus, the Neoclassical style was born. Neoclassical style of art is often characterized by perfect, smooth lines, deep colors, dark shading, and a clear form.
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A good example of Neoclassical style is the painting, “Death of Marat”. Created by one of the most influential and important artists of the French Revolution, Jacques-Louis David in 1793, this painting holds a great deal of history. David was part of a revolutionary parliament, who supported the idea of the king’s execution. When one of his good friends, and famous revolutionary chief reporter, Jean-Paul Marat was murdered in his bathtub, the parliament ordered David to paint, portraying Marat as a martyr. The painting shows Marat in his tub, with the knife he was presumably stabbed with on the floor next to him. There is a writing table with a scroll on it next to the tub. One can tell from the unfinished writing that Marat was in the middle of one of his reports for the company that he was chief reporter for. This painting struck a hard chord in everyone, as it showed the harsh reality of life during the Revolution. There was nothing pretty or heartwarming about this painting, allowing David to get his message across perfectly of how serious times were, for everyone involved. Staying true to the Neoclassical style, “The Death of Marat” became one of David’s many masterpieces (Blomme, n.d.). Decades after the French Revolution, the Neoclassical style started to slip away, as there was now a time of freedom and individuality. Now that the French were unrestricted from the grips of the monarchy, they were free to be independent and at peace. Artists were so inspired by this that they needed a way to express this newfound individuality of the people, therefore Romanticism was created. Similar to that of the earlier Rococo, Romanticism was used as a way of portraying the artist’s emotion and thoughts in a positive style. One painting that perfectly portrays the likes of Romantic art
A good example of Neoclassical style is the painting, “Death of Marat”. Created by one of the most influential and important artists of the French Revolution, Jacques-Louis David in 1793, this painting holds a great deal of history. David was part of a revolutionary parliament, who supported the idea of the king’s execution. When one of his good friends, and famous revolutionary chief reporter, Jean-Paul Marat was murdered in his bathtub, the parliament ordered David to paint, portraying Marat as a martyr. The painting shows Marat in his tub, with the knife he was presumably stabbed with on the floor next to him. There is a writing table with a scroll on it next to the tub. One can tell from the unfinished writing that Marat was in the middle of one of his reports for the company that he was chief reporter for. This painting struck a hard chord in everyone, as it showed the harsh reality of life during the Revolution. There was nothing pretty or heartwarming about this painting, allowing David to get his message across perfectly of how serious times were, for everyone involved. Staying true to the Neoclassical style, “The Death of Marat” became one of David’s many masterpieces (Blomme, n.d.). Decades after the French Revolution, the Neoclassical style started to slip away, as there was now a time of freedom and individuality. Now that the French were unrestricted from the grips of the monarchy, they were free to be independent and at peace. Artists were so inspired by this that they needed a way to express this newfound individuality of the people, therefore Romanticism was created. Similar to that of the earlier Rococo, Romanticism was used as a way of portraying the artist’s emotion and thoughts in a positive style. One painting that perfectly portrays the likes of Romantic art