18th Century Art

18th Century Art The Enlightenment, Neo-Classicism, Romanticism

The Enlightenment

A new enlightened way of thinking critically about the world and about humankind, independent of religion, myth, or tradition

Voltaire (1694 – 1778)

One of the most important figures of the Enlightenment. He was a French writer and philosopher critical of the rule of Kings and the selfish privileges of the nobility and the church

Voltaire protested for freedom of thought and religion

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Voltaire Seated

1781

Terra Cotta model for marble sculpture

Seated Portrait

Smile of Voltaire shows his satisfaction in his old age that he helped change France with his activism.

Voltaire helped pave the way for the French Revolution (1789 – 1799)

Voltaire believed “all men are created equal”

The Enlightenment was grounded in empirical evidence (using reason and

needing evidence)

Scientific Questioning

Joseph Wright of Derby, An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump, 1768, Oil on Canvas

Drama of candlelit scene (Inspired by Baroque Style)

The wonders of scientific knowledge

Need to prove ideas scientifically / evidence

Air Pump related to discovery of oxygen / “power of steam” – steam engines used in England for industrial revolution

Comparison

Neo-Classicism

Renewed interest in “Classical” Ancient Greek and Roman art and culture

Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784, Oil on Canvas

Inspired by Classic Greek and Roman Art and Art of the Renaissance

Oath of the Horatii – Roman History – 3 Horatius brothers and their father swear to “win or die” for Rome (conflict between Rome and Alba, Italy)

Statuesque figures

Emotional female figures on right

Comparison

Jacques-Louis David

The Death of Marat

1793

Oil on Canvas

“Neo-classical spareness” – cold, empty space above

Inspired by French Revolution

Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat (revolutionary radical and friend of David – stabbed to death)

Narrative details to tell story – the knife, the wound, the blood, the letter

Antonio Canova, Pauline Borghese as Venus, 1808, Marble Sculpture

Napoleon’s sister as the goddess of beauty (Napoleon Bonaparte – French Emperor)

Napoleon commissioned several Neo-classical artworks by Canova

Holding a golden apple – symbol of goddess triumph in the Judgment of Paris (story from Greek Mythology – who’s the most beautiful goddess)

Pose and drapery recall Greek sculpture

Comparison

Antonio Canova

Cupid and Psyche

1787

Marble Sculpture

Illustrates story from Greek Mythology (Love story between a human and a God involving jealousy)

Psyche – beautiful human daughter of King and Queen

Cupid – god – son of Venus – Venus jealous of Psyche’s beauty

Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun

Self-Portrait with her Daughter, Julie

1789

Oil on Canvas

Artist was one of a very few women admitted to the art academy

After the French Revolution, they took back her degree because women were no longer accepted to the art academy

Neo-Classical clothing

Closeness between a mother and child (reference to Renaissance Art - Virgin Mary / triangle composition)

Romanticism

Interest in Personal Freedoms (freedom of thought, freedom of feeling, freedom of action, freedom of

speech, etc.)

“Feeling is all”

- Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749 – 1832)

William Blake

The Ancient of Days

1794

Illustration (Hand-colored etching)

Blake was a visionary poet, painter and engraver

Blake visited by “spirits” in his dreams

Classical references (ideal, classical anatomy of figure) – Blake admired ancient Greek art

Energy and Movement – Ancient of Days leans forward unleashing power into rays of light - wind through his hair and beard

Henri Fuseli

The Nightmare

1781

Oil on Canvas

Fantasies of artist’s imagination (Human subconscious – dreams)

Incubus – mythological creature that preys on women at night

Title is a play on words – “nightmare” – mara is a ghost horse who torments and suffocates sleepers

Composition related to Baroque art - Dynamism

Neo-Classical details – woman lying on bed with draped cloth

Francisco Goya

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters

1798

Graphic Arts (Etching and Aquatint)

If you forget reason, “monsters will appear” (connection to Enlightenment)

Goya, himself, asleep

Attacked by owls and bats (Fear)

The unleashing of imagination, emotion, and nightmares

Francisco Goya, The 3rd of May 1808, 1814, Oil on Canvas

French soldiers killing Spanish people

Violent scene – blood / dead Spanish people

Resistance and Patriotism of Spanish

Emotional / Dramatic – use of strong light and dark