H206 NARRATIVE DEVELOPMENT WORK
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LAOCOON AND HIS SONS C.175-50 BC MARBLE HEIGHT 242 CM (APP 180 CM IS SIX FOOT TALL) The Narrative-
Laocoon was a Trojan priest who told the people of Troy not to except the gift from the Greeks of a wooden horse. He threw a spear into the horse to check, but nothing was found. Athena then blinded him. Laocoรถn Group Hellenistic period
As extra punishment, Poseidon sent two serpents to kill him and sons
Hagesandrus, Polydorus, and Athenodorus, Laocoön and his Sons, c.42 BC-20 BC (marble) (height 2.4 m) (Vatican Museums, Rome).
Complex composition of human and reptilian forms • Laocoön figure dominant • Laocoön has an open pose • Laocoön shown with his two sons fighting off large snakes • all figures are nude with accurately observed anatomical details • none of the figures engage with the viewer •
Multi figure Nude Sculpture LAOCOON AND HIS
Complex negative space which SONS gives theC.175-50 sculpture BCa dramatic MARBLE feel HEIGHT 242 CM (APPcomposition 180 CM IS SIX An upward FOOT TALL)
Strong diagonals evident increasing the dramatic event Laocoon head at the top emphasising his importance Pyramidal composition. Irregular Silhouette Fixed viewpoint Laocoรถn Group Hellenistic period
Idealised figures-why?
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Botticelli The Birth Of Venus Oil On Canvas c. 1480
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She holds her hands in the ‘Venus Pudica’ position first used in the famous statue of Aphrodite of Cnidos by the Greek sculptor Praxiteles
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Beauty equals morality Beauty equals purity
Possibly based on Simonetta Cattaneo de Vespucci (nicknamed la bella Simonetta; ca. 1453 – April 26, 1476)
Beauty equals morality Beauty equals purity
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David The Death of Marat 1793 Oil on canvas 162 x 128 cm
The radical republican Jean-Paul Marat was assassinated in his bath by the moderate Charlotte Corday on 13 July 1793.
• The dying Marat slumps in his bath, still holding his quill pen and the treacherous note from Corday. • Naturalistic detailed rendering of the moment of death. • Pose is remarkably natural and graceful: Marat gently slipping from Life to death. • David paid tribute to Marat with the inscription on the packing case that Marat used as a desk. It also suggests that this is year one of the new Revolution.
Jean-Paul Marat saw himself as a friend of the people, He was editor of the magazine Ami du Peuple. ( friend of the people) He suffered from a skin disease and had to stay in a soothing bath. This is where David shows him, in the moment after the murder by Charlotte Corday, a supporter of the aristocracy, and the Monarchy David had seen his fellow Jacobin party member and friend the day before he was murdered.
Jacques-Louis David (DAV-EEED) 1748–1825
This is his self portrait when he was in prison for the painting we will look at today Look how he shows himself to be an innocent painter
There were many people who were against this revolution and they needed to be executed. Dr. Joseph Guillotine invented a machine that would make executions more humane. Our man in the painting today called Marat wrote down the names of the French people who were against the revolution in order for them to be killed
Jacques-Louis David. The Death of Marat (1793) • Oil on canvas, 162 cm x 128 cm.
• David paid tribute to Marat with the inscription on the packing case that Marat used as a desk. It also suggests that this is year one of the new Revolution.
This work refers to the assassination of radical journalist Jean-Paul Marat, killed on the 13th of July 1793 by Charlotte Corday. Corday claimed "I killed one man to save 100,000."
ď ˝Reference to religious art ď ˝Makes Marat a martyr of the revolution
Jacques-Louis David. The Death of Marat (1793) • Oil on canvas, 162 cm x 128 cm.
• Marat’s body is idealised and the stark setting is reminiscent of the art of a 17th century Baroque artist called Caravaggio.
Visual Language can include: Content
Rubens: ‘The Deposition of Christ’, 1611
The main key to this painting is that the trailing arm of Marat is similar to the trailing arm of Jesus in images where he has been taken down from the cross…..The scary fact about this association is that David is suggesting that Marat is not dead. He will rise and live on as a martyr of the Revolution Rubens: ‘The Deposition of Christ’, 1611
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This is a larger than life size painting that depicts a moment from the repercussions of the wreck of the French naval frigate Medusa, which hit the sea banks off of the coast of Mauritania on July 5, 1816. Approximately 147 people were set adrift on a make shift raft, with casualties of 132 people and only 15 people surviving. The survivors endured 13 days of starvation, dehydration and practiced cannibalism. The event escalated into a national scandal due to the incompetence of the French government in sending help. The painting was created by ThĂŠodore GĂŠricault and choosing the tragedy as a subject matter, he interviewed two of the survivors and decided to reconstruct the raft. The purpose of this painting was to show the mistakes made by the men and the government leading to the death and torment of the group of survivors. Since reason had not brought an end to human suffering, so the artist portrayed a world without reason where that suffering was purposeless.
Analysis:
Pyramid of Hope: GĂŠricault has organised the composition to form two pyramids. The first triangle ranges from the deck to the top of the mast and down towards one of the survivors hands. The second pyramid ranges from a severed head to one of the survivors signalling for a boat in the distance using a flag and down towards the bottom of the deck. One other feature of the composition is the lack of foreground. GĂŠricault makes the raft extend to the very edge of the painting, which cuts off the corner. This allows the viewer to almost feel like they are on the raft.
In the distance sailing towards the Medusa wreck is the Argus, the sister ship of the Medusa coming to save them from certain death.
Gericault interviewed the survivors and found out that they ate each other…so he included a bloodied axe in the painting…… he also included a French officers uniform as he blamed the event on an old captain who caused the Medusa ship to sink
• Although the event was a political scandal, the disaster was blamed on the incompetence of the captain who was employed by the new Bourbon King Louis XVIII • He painted an epic representation of human misery.
Planned out like a classical painting. Here are studies of the survivors‌..
• In order to get the detail of drowned flesh correct, Gericault visited the morgues to paint dead flesh. • This is romantic as he wants the experience to be authentic
Anatomical pieces. Théodore Géricault 1818
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Liberty Leading The People
Romanticism in 19th Century France
• Delacroix • ‘Liberty Leading the PeoPLe’
• 1830
• oiL on canvas, 259 cm x 325 cm
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Figures advance over the barricade and over dead royalist soldiers.
Franรงois Rude The Marseillaise (The departure of the volunteers of 1792) (1833-36)
François Rude The Marseillaise (The departure of the volunteers of 1792) (1833-36)
Chérence stone relief, height on Arc de Triomphe, Paris.
13 m
The event depicts…… The triumphant celebration of French patriotic heroism during the French Revolution when 200,000 volunteered to defend their homeland against threats from abroad.
Similar romantic composition to this painting…..Delacroix: ‘Liberty Leading the People’ 1830 oil on canvas large scale
A head by Franรงois Rude around 1836. The plaster model was used for one of the marble characters in "The Departure of the Volunteers" on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Bernini. Self portrait from the 17th Century. He put his hand in a flame to get this gesture. He was a Baroque artist who wanted to capture the moment for the highest emotional impact from the viewer. Romantic artists borrowed these ideas‌.
•The sculpture contains…… Six soldiers - of varying ages - respond to the call of the Roman goddess of war, Bellona, who has also been identified as a personification (allegorical) of Liberty. • She is a winged, powerful figure with sword in hand and who urges the men from her left to right.
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a relatively recent scene, all the soldiers are in ancient dress or nude - to give sense of timelessness. • Group challenges/encourages all future generations of Frenchmen to join them.
• Sculpture
acquired the name of The Marseillaise – the French national anthem that was originally composed in 1792 by Rouget de Lisle as the War Song for the Army of the Rhine and was concerned with the same military events as the group.
Romantic Sculpture: Sculpture based on the body not classical prototypes, violent emotion, Figures show intense exaggerated movement, anatomical detail.
A huge piece of self glorification by Napoleon
The arch was commissioned by Napoleon as a tribute to the French army, until it stopped after the defeat of Napoleon. In 1833 work was begun again. completed in 1836 under the new king Louis-Philippe and his minister of the interior, Adolphe Thiers, the arch was a way of illustrating the new government's efforts at national unity and reconciliation.
Rude's The Departure of the Volunteers of 1792 (or "La Marseillaise") The most famous of the four reliefs on the faces of the arch depicts the French people rallying against enemies from abroad. (Rude's own father had been one of these volunteers.) These citizens, both nude and in classical armour, are roused to patriotic fervour by the Roman goddess of war, Bellona, who can also be seen as a personification of Liberty. This grouping became known as "La Marseillaise," the French national anthem written in 1792--the same year as the departure of the volunteers.
Allegorical Classical references, both in the figure of Bellona and the nude soldiers or wearing Roman Armour Pyramidal Vast scale Rhetorical gesture/ heroes The violence of the figures and their compressed, densely packed composition owes something to Romanticism
Francois Rude: ‘La-Marseillaise.’ 1833-36. stone relief. h13 m. Arc de Triomphe. Rodin: ‘The Burgers of Calais’, 1885-95, Axially organised Clearly pyramidal 217 x 255 x 177 cm Feeling of movement created by overlapping bodies, held in place by the icon like figure above. Figures thus joined in communal activity (volunteers) and the creation of liberty (the point at which the volunteers realise that liberty as a group) Note the paired gestures on the goddess above and the man below
Francois Rude: ‘La-Marseillaise.’ 1833-36. stone relief. h13 m. Arc de Triomphe. Rodin: ‘The Burgers of Calais’, 1885-95, 217 x 255 x 177 cm
Frontal relief: the viewer is expected to stand in a certain position to get the full meaning
Paul Delaroche The Execution of Lady Jane Grey
1833 oil on canvas Large scale 246 x 297 cm
The French Salon • The Salon was an exhibition of art that was open to all people and was held every year in France a visit to the Salon was similar to you visiting the cinema today. It was a form of entertainment • To be a top artist you needed to be included in the Salon. • Art was selected by a jury of judges • Popular genres included paintings of historical events. • The favoured styles of art were Neo-classical and oil on canvas Romantic….which is now known as Academic art or Salon style art….our image in this pack has elements of both Neo-classicism Large scale and Romanticism. 246 x 297 cm
Paul Delaroche (1797 –1856)
oil on canvas Large scale 246 x 297 cm
Mary 1st Portrait by 1554 Antoni's Mor
Lady Jane grey, queen of England
England had a choice in 1553 of who should take the Crown. Mary (who became Queen Mary I "Bloody Mary" 1516 - 1558) by his first wife Catherine of Aragon, who was the half sister to Edward VI…and had the support of Catholic worshippers…….. or Lady Jane Grey who was the Grand-daughter of Mary Tudor, who was Henry VIII’s sister and had support from the Protestant worshippers. oil on canvas Large scale 246 x 297 cm
As a Protestant, Jane was crowned queen in a bid to shore up Protestantism and keep Catholic influence at bay. Jane became Queen of England after the death of her cousin, Edward VI in 1553, but
only for nine
days.
However, the plan to shore up Protestantism didn't work because Jane's claim to the crown was much weaker than the more legitimate person who was Mary, the half sister to Edward VI. Mary and her officials had her tried for treason and Lady and her husband were sent to the tower of London and sentenced to death. Lady Jane Grey was executed at Tower Green on 12 February 1554. She was just 16 years old. Mary, a Catholic, had popular support and soon replaced Jane as Queen Mary 1st This painting by Delaroche depicts an interpretation of the moment before her execution.
oil on canvas Large scale 246 x 297 cm
Visually the painting is divided into three vertical elements.
oil on canvas Large scale 246 x 297 cm
On the left we can see two grief stricken ladies in waiting, with one sat slumped on the floor and one standing with her back to the us. These figures emphasize the solemn mood of the painting.
oil on canvas Large scale 246 x 297 cm
To the right of the image we can see the executioner who is standing in an almost classical contrapposto stance. This stance is usually seen in sculptures of heroic figures from ancient classical art, and demonstrates the academic training of Delaroche. oil on canvas Large scale 246 x 297 cm
In the central part of the image we can see the main protagonist, Lady Jane Grey. Her youthful age is highlighted in the painting as she is stood next to an ageing Lieutenant of the Tower of London, Sir John Brydges who guides her towards the execution block. oil on canvas Large scale 246 x 297 cm
The straw on which the block rests was intended to soak up the victim's blood.
oil on canvas Large scale 246 x 297 cm
Lady Jane wears a blindfold and is about to kneel with her arms anxiously fumbling for the block on which she is about to rest her head. She is depicted with porcelain pale skin and is dressed in crisp white silk. She appears almost doll like. oil on canvas Large scale 246 x 297 cm
Delaroche has mastered the use of chiaroscuro so brilliantly so that Lady Jane stands out strikingly from her surroundings whether or not she was dressed like this is unknown but as she was married this was unlikely. However Delaroche chooses this to paint her this way to show her innocence in the situation. oil on canvas Large scale 246 x 297 cm
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 which were
published only in 1863.
In 1808 Spain was invaded by Napoleon
Unusually in art this is a bleak image of heroism and it also deals with the stark realities of death. Look at the variety of reactions from the victims – despair, disbelief, defiance.
Bloody corpses on the left in the foreground.
Panic, fear and the brutal finality of execution by the faceless and de-humanised firing squad are emphasised and the central figure in the white shirt is deliberately meant to be reminiscent of a Christ figure – even down to suggestions of stigmata in the palms of his hands.
The painting used as the main element for this piece is one of the many works by Francisco Goya known as ‘The Black Duchess’. From her facial expression she comes across as someone with attitude and a lot of selfconfidence. The clothes that she’s wearing and her foul stare at the viewer allows her to come across as someone important/ in power
The gesture with her right hand points down to the ground where there is an inscription that reads “Solo Goya” or “Only Goya”. Her right arm being forward also makes her body position look slightly more forward towards the painter giving her more of an edge. It also makes her look like she’s ordering you to look down at the floor. The inscription was only discovered after a modern cleaning so it must be important for the harsh gesture she is giving off.
She gives off the same kind of atmosphere in this painting but the focus has shifted more into her hand rather than the clothes she is wearing.
The duchess fell ill mysteriously and to show his love and affection towards her, Goya wrote his dedication into the sand, which reads "A la Duquesa de Alba. Fr. de Goya 1795.“
This exhibition poster looks at the work of Goya and Picasso but in this particular piece shows one of Picasso’s pieces of artwork known as The Weeping Woman With The Handkerchief. I think the whole story is told through her eyes because if you look closely you can see that they look cracked whereas in other parts of the image it is quite difficult to make out what is going on. I think this is a very simple exhibition poster but the colours chosen for the background and for the information all blends nicely.
This is yet another exhibition poster for the artwork of Picasso and the painting entitled The Nude Woman In The Red Chair. The gestures she is making looks as if she’s trying to express her beauty through her face rather than showing the feminine parts of her body that were intended to be gazed upon by the viewer. I don’t really understand why the designer has decided to merge the painting into a 3D shape; it’s quite an odd 3D shape because both the light blue and the black side of the box shape almost give it a full 3D aspect.
Choosing My Exhibition Poster Design Romantic Gestures
Quick Selection Tool
Burn Tool
These are my initial start up designs for my exhibition poster; these were created in Photoshop by simply using what is known as a quick selection tool to cut the subject out of the starting image. This way of creating art is called a double exposure. In this instance the subject is the goddess Venus, the proportions show the greatest of exaggerations, but the long neck and torrent of hair help to create the mystifying gesture that she makes. I then made copies of the original image with Venus in it and I started to play around with the different light shades of the image. I then used the burn tool to make various parts of her body fade away in the image on the left. The other effects you will notice to see comes from making a copy of the original image and piling it under the cut out of Venus .
From the inspiration of the initial Venus designs, I used the same method as I used before but I have combined Venus with a picture of the sea. I chose the sea because it was in close relation to how she was born but it gives some brightness to the image. I have only combined her with the sea as far as below her chin but also where the horizon line is found. The title for my exhibition is ‘Romantic Gestures’, which I have included at the top but under that I have given a brief description into what pieces of art the gallery holds, the date from which it opens till its close, social media pages where more info can be found and where the exhibition will be held.
The Venue of the exhibition
This is another of my poster designs except the figure in this one is Liberty from the painting ‘liberty leading the people’. In this piece I have combined her with the French flag and the inspiration behind this was Liberty was the definitive figure of the French revolution, so it seems right that she should be defined by the colours of her nation in this piece. This poster was designed in exactly the same way as the Venus poster but in this case we are using the entire image of the flag. I have chosen to use the double exposure theme throughout the first and second piece because I like the way the painting blends with a normal image. The title, information, social media pins and the gallery logo are the same as the Venus poster.
This is my third and final poster design and the leading figure in this piece is Marat. This is yet again a double exposure but this time I have cut out the note from Charlotte Corday that was originally in Marat’s hand and I have combined it with Marat himself. This poster also contains the same title and information formats as the other two posters, with the added extras like the social media pins and the venue logo.
Out of all three of my poster designs, this one really stands out for me because the colour of the background, the image I have created and the information I included merge really well together into one with very little gaps showing.
These are all of my posters fit into their frames. They will be stuck around my exhibition a long with wall plaques, explaining information about the paintings. There will also be separate white plaques below the paintings telling the viewer the size of the painting and the medium that painting was painted in.