History essay plan

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Introduction

  • Before the 19th C historical paintings were of events that were in the distant past, and used to celebrate heroes, noble deaths and events. 
  • With the political unrest, artists were no longer tied to a state which allowed them to depict controversial events. They were radicals who painted injustice and traumatic events which are graphical and impactful.
  • Religion remained a subject and interest for some artist.
  • Historical paintings aren’t necessarily fully truthful, they are the artists own take on contemporary events.
  • Artists’ techniques are emotive, brushwork and application of paint is looser and fluid.
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Intro/description to Goya ‘The Shootings of May 3r

·         Multifigure- there is disproportion and a confusion in perspective

·         Shows soldiers executing civilians

·         The scene seems to be at night

·         Main figure is the victim of the shooting who is lit by the lamp, he wears yellow and white and throws his arms up in the air

·         Dramatical spotlighting

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How is it political #1

·       Shows true events of what occurred on May 3rd ,1808, the painting is one of two, the other being ‘The 2nd of May’

·       Shows the shootings of Spanish civilians who had been rounded up after the riot and brawl that occurred on May 2nd. After Napoleon influenced the abdication of King Charles IV and Queen Maria Luisa, when the queen returned to get her children, the brawl broke out in the Puerto Del Sol in the centre of Madrid between the Spanish citizens including some of the Spanish soldiers and French Soldiers. After the brawl on May 2nd, on May 3rd a high-ranking French rounded up anyone who was carrying a weapon which was the majority of the Spanish citizens and then to execute them.

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How is it political #2

·       The painting criticises the French for persecuting any Spanish citizen who was holding weapons on the 2nd, most of Spanish citizens were artisans so would always be carrying knives. Meant that many innocents were murdered by the French soldiers. 

·       The piece was commissioned by the government to show the martyrdom of the Spanish people.

·        Goya himself wasn’t necessarily anti-French, he witnessed the chaos of Spain whilst the unholy trinity was around, however the danger of being pro-French meant that he paints ‘The shootings of May 3rd, 1808’ which is sympathetic to the Spanish and then ‘The 2nd of May’ which is critical to both French and Spanish.

·        The scene however is unrealistic because the soldiers shooting is too close.

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How is it beyond political (religious/romantic) #1

·        Central figure is a martyr, the scene shows a martyrdom. He wears heraldic colours of the pope

·       The scaling of the martyr makes him a giant compared to the others, refers to the martyr becoming larger than life at the moment of death

·       There is a priest kneeling in prayer

·       Martyr resembles Christ, the stigmata is shown, the martyr holds his arms up as though he was being crucified. 

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How is it beyond political (religious/romantic) #2

·         There is a hooded woman who represents the Virgin Mary, as though she was attending the crucifixion scene.

·         The whole scene shares parallels to the scene of when Christ was arrested by the Romans

·         The Lamp in the middle is debated to be either being a reference to the eye of God or the light of death

  • Emotive- shows blood and gore, the darkened nature and tragedy of humanity, the anti-enlightenment 
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Intro/description to Gericault ‘The Raft of the Me

·         Pile of corpses and bodies amongst a raft

·         Multifigure

·         Raft amongst wild sea with a faint ship (Argos) on the horizon

·         Black man on the apex of the pile of bodies

·         The dead and the dying amongst the foreground

·         Defined muscular men

·         Scene of death, horror, desperation and hope

·         Chiaroscuro bringing dramatic use of light and tone, there is a focus on the foreground.

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How is it political #1

·       Shows the real events of when the Medusa was wrecked and a raft carrying 150 individuals, only 15 survived the 13 days of being stranded. Abandoned by the higher ranks and captain who were aristocrats, shows the aristocratic privilege of the captain (Vicomte Hugnes Duroy De Chaumerey) being placed in a position of power that he was not experienced enough for, blaming the corrupt French government, De Chaumerey can be blamed for the ship wreck

·       The rescue ship the Argus can be seen in the distance on the horizon

·       It was a highly controversial event at the time and the story was leaked to the papers, publicising and showing it to the public in the ‘Journal des Debates’

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How is it political #2

  • The African Jean Charles is on the apex in the most prominent position, waving to the Argus, linking to events at the time about the abolishment of slavery, in the painting he is the one showing the most hope, links to a previous comparison of the French government with tribal leaders, were tribal leaders are shown as sympathetic and treats their people properly whereas French do not

  • The painting is completely anti-government and anti the Bourbon monarchy

  •  It was originally called ‘Scene of a Shipwreck’ which strips it of its political controversial

  • The piece was not commissioned, Gericault chose to paint the scene and make his own statement, it was not biased nor was it restricted by a patron.

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How is it beyond political (classical)

  • The piece is beyond through the subject matter of mental health, the hallucinations of the victims, the Argos on the horizon can almost not be seen (it is there and it’s not)

  • Argued by Anthony Graham Dixon that it is a metaphorical piece of longing for something, possibly God or a women Gericault could not have.

  • Classical influence, defined nude figures, the influence by Michelangelo’s ‘Detail of the last judgement’ as well as the chiaroscuro, referencing the classical texts of Dante’s Inferno ‘Ugolino’ which suggests cannibalism but also provokes thought and contemplation. It is Frieze like, and highly composed with the rule of thirds as well as double pyramid.

  • Romantic though the element of sublime, horror, terror, gore, human instinct, anti-enlightenment and goes against noble deaths and rational thought, shows madness, symbolism with the shaft being the world and the figures being humanity, the power of nature over man

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Intro/description to Delacroix ‘Liberty Leading th

  • Multifigure

  • Drama crated through back lighting

  • Cinematic effect- smoke swirling around with light breaking through and highlighting figures from behind

  • Central main female figure of liberty which was the personification of the revolution

  • Liberty is semi-nude, she is bear breasted; she stands on a pile of corpses and holds a tricolour and a musket

  • A chaotic mob follows behind liberty with six figures in focus in the foreground, including liberty. All the classes except the middle class can be seen within the mob.

  • They are charging over a barricade in Paris with Norte Dame in the background, there is a tricolour flying on the Norte Dame. The scene itself is artificial and made up

  • It is a theatrical painting of true events showing an uprising.

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How is it political #1

  • Shows the July 1830 Revolution, 3 glorious days, after King Charles published four laws (censorship of press, restricted electoral voting, dissolving of the Chamber of Deputies, increasing the power of the church)

  • Shows the different classes fighting together

  • Dying print maker is the only one looking at liberty, a vison and last hope of liberty before death, print makers were the first to start the violence and riots after the new laws

  • Delacroix didn’t fight and hated the violence, “[revolutions] get in the way of dinner parties”, his was of joining the revolution was by painting.

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How is it political #2

  • Delacroix was nostalgic for the Napoleon era, however the revolutions and new political regime allowed for me freedom for expression within art, Delacroix became more controversial with his subject matter.

  • Shows two tricolours, one held by liberty and the other flying on the Norte Dame in the background, tricolour symbolises liberty, egalite (equality) and fraternite (fraternity)

  • Liberty is the personification of revolution

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How is it beyond political (romantic/classical) #1

  • Romantic ideals of the sublime through the chaos of the mob, gore, violence, themes of freedom and equality, movement, dynamics, loose expressive brushwork and techniques

  • However classical through pyramidal composition, phrygian cap which link to classics because phyrgian caps were given to roman slaves when they were freed, draughtsmanship, parallels of liberty with the Classics, studying old masters such as Michelangelo

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How is it beyond political (romantic/classical) #2

  • Controversy over liberty, shown as a real woman, not a classical or allegorical figure like it would traditionally be. Compared to a fishwife, non-idealised. She has an illusion of both classical and contemporary because of her dress looks like both a Greek tunic and a utilitarian frock, controversial through her showing bear breasted completely

  • Liberty is a secular revolutionary equivalent to the Virgin Mary

  • The depiction of liberty as a working-class woman leading the rebel mob shows a possible move towards women’s rights, heroizing women

  • Controversial through the stripped soldier who shows pubic hair, shows a royalist soldier

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