Romanticism: Ariel Chow talks on Delacroix's The Death of Sardanapalus, 1827.

(draft essay)

Artist: Eugene Delacroix
Year: 1827 
Dimensions: 392 x 496 cm
Medium: Oil on Canvas



The Death of Sardanapalus was created from the inspiration of Byron's 1821 tragedy Sardanapalus. Yet, Delacroix did not precisely follow the text in the poem, but to depict in a more destructive way by his own imagination.

In The Death of Sardanapalus, the city of Assyrian King, Sardanapalus, was under attack by an alliance of Medes, Persians and Babylonians. Learning that he was going to be defeated, instead of facing this humiliation, he would rather choose to end his life together with all his precious possessions. His concubines, including  his favorite Myrrha, his horses, his slaves were all stabbed and killed. He watched the whole progress in his eyes before he ordered to light his funeral pyre around him. That is to say, he would rather destroy all his valuable possessions than have them left in the hands of his enemies.

Looking into the details of the painting, although the content was considered barbaric and unfavorable by the contemporary critics, this large Salon painting is generally regarded as one of Delacroix’s masterpieces nowadays. According to John P. O’Neill, “This was the largest, the most Rubensian, the most lavishly colored and ornamented, the most voluptuously savage of Delacroix's paintings to date.” It was an early example of practicing the newly invented Romantic picture type, the vignette, with the most bright color and the light shines on the same spot. From the painting, the light focuses on the bottom right part, one of the King’s concubines was being stabbed. As it edges, surroundings become less defined and darker, even the King himself is a bit hidden in the shadow. It is possible that Delacroix tried to depict the King like an “outsider” since he remained apathetic among the corpses and chaos, as to achieve greater dramatic contrast. Unlike the thick brushstrokes style he practiced in his other artworks, most parts of this painting were in tight and precise brushstrokes. Together with the lavish red and yellow colors jumping off, the whole painting seems like a “sophisticated murderous scene”. 

As a work created in the peak of Romantic movement, I would say this painting is quite a typical artwork of romanticism. Especially for the emphasis on the expression of emotion. The brutal killing creates savage scenes on the painting. His women, slaves, horses, all struggle to live. Their despair facial expressions and outstretched body gestures clearly show their fear and pain. Too many killings occurred at the same time. When they were depicted on the one single painting, it seems kind of “crowded”. This contributes to create a more chaotic atmosphere, despite the King himself. He reclined on his extravagant bed, lying on a sumptuous red cushion, remained emotionless watching the whole progress. In his eyes we see no apathy for his formerly beloved treasures. The great contrast contributes to the dramatic tension of the painting.

Apart from the expression of emotion, the painting profoundly shows Delacroix’s individual imagination. As a matter of fact, the artwork was created before his oriental trip. It is to say that, it was his pre-oriental painting. The painting itself is depicting an oriental story, it is easy to discover that Delacroix tried hard to paint the  oriental elements as detailed as possible, from the decorations of the king’s bedroom, people’s costumes, and the rich red and yellow color etc. By that time Delacroix had never been to the east, all the elements he depicted were under his own imagination to the mysterious east in the eyes of an European. That is how the painting gives a very exotic feeling, together with the sense of nostalgia for the past and the interest in  “long ago” and “far away” stories, which reflect the features of romantic art.

To me, it was a shock when I saw the painting at the first time. Barbaric, violent, cruel, sentimental, helplessness, dramatic, desperate, desire, despair, decadence, destruction… these are the words that first came into my mind. Seeing the chaotic scenes all over the painting, I soon discovered there was one character not involved with the others — the King. I quickly assume that there must be an interesting story behind. That explains how this painting aroused my interest. It is true that this painting is filled with violent elements. However, I personally see this is the means that the artist used to show his ideas, just like any other means used by other artists. 

I shall not try to guess what Delacroix tried to convey, perhaps only he would truly know. While in my view, I think it can relate to the historical background. By that time, French Revolution was in progress and Charles X was still the king of France. The painting thoroughly reflects the extreme degeneration of human desires. The Assyrian king not only wanted to be the ruler of his kingdom in his lifetime, but also afterlife. Perhaps the painting also question about the monarchy, whether they really care about the well-being of their people, or just exploit them to satisfied royal members’ personally desires.

In conclusion, not only as a masterpiece of artwork, The Death of Sardanapalus remained much to be discussed by people. Different people have different views and no definite answers should be given. At last, here are two questions that I am interested to hear the response from others: “ Do you think this is a typical Romantic artwork? Why or why not?” and “ Do you think this artwork have any correlation with the historical background happening during that period?

Reference list:

books:

Laurie Schneider-Adams, Art Across Time: Vol II, Boston: McGraw Hill College, 2002

John P. O’Neill, edited, Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) : paintings, drawings, and prints from North American collections, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991

website:

http://www.artble.com/artists/eugene_delacroix/paintings/the_death_of_sardanapalus

http://www.everything2.com/title/The+Death+of+Sardanapalus

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/great-works-the-death-of-sardanapalus-1827-eugegravene-delacroix-2015856.html

http://www.eugene-delacroix.com/death-of-sardanapalus.jsp

Romanticism:Hazel Tse talks on Goya's The Third of May 1808, 1814.

Artist: Francisco Goya

Completion Date: 1814

Style: Romanticism

Genre: history painting

Technique: oil

Material: canvas

Dimensions: 266 x 345 cm

Questions: what is the under-meaning of this art? Is there any political view taken in this art? What technique is used? How did printer express his feeling about this war?

The third of may 1808 is an art work printed by Francisco de Goya which was about a random executions in third and second of may in 1808. These executions come from the wars in Puerto del Sol area of Madrid. The uprising of Spanish happened and such execution were repeated in Spanish countryside. Madrid people rose up and against French invaders, receiving a swift and retribution of barbarousness.

In 1807, Napoleon invaded Spain and made Charles IV and his son Ferdinand VII to give up the throne. The Spaniards rebelled while they sent the members of Spain royal family to France because they feared there would be execution than exile. On the second of May 1808, French fired and gathered in protest in the royal palace which located in Madrid which leaded to the street fighting in the city. Hundreds of revolts and executions were arose. Although the initial rebellion was successful, the Peninsular War plagued Joseph’s rule. (Napoleon’s brother)

Goya admired the French enlightenment of freedoms previously. Spanish were weary of Charles IVs’ faltering efforts and the improvement of Ferdinand. But Napoleon stopped anything that Spanish liberals wanted for freedom of French. He welcomed the movement of French and against inquisition of Spain. However, wars were happened in the name of democracy and freedom, faith was lost in their claims. 

During the 6 years of occupation by French, Goya was living in Madrid. There is so much speculation about whether he saw the event of ‘the second of May’ and ‘the third of May’. Evidences show that he owned a property in La Quinta. Massacres were taken place in there too. Goya maybe the victim, being the observer. The ‘Disasters of War’ and ‘Black Paintings’ are from the last several years of Goya’s life. These maybe the annotation of the barbaric characteristic of wars, painful effects on the whole society.   

Working in the Spanish royal court as a designer and printer, Goya had created profitable relationship between the clergy and nobility. He found that he was in a tough spot as being a supporter of republics’ founding of new French. The relationship between Spain and France became precarious, especially the beheading of French Louis XVI, Goya separated the output between royal portraits and satirical prints that damaged the religion and society institutions. 

The third of May was well-known that it appeared in covers of book and postage stamps. Epitomizing Goya’s art and Spanish spirit of revolutionary heroism. The violence moved depicting public execution on 3 may 1808. Comparing to street battle of vigour, Spaniards gained upper hand, the massacre of people, which French carried out for avenge, had been painted in the most attractive color.  

At the left of the art, unarmed people are kneeling with mingled blood and bodies of death. They are facing a firing squad and at the back of a mound. On the right , the first squad is ready to fire and carry out execution. Spectators gather at the back and watch the condemnation and execution. The sky is black which is full of sadness and gloominess. The palace is lifeless and lacks of grandeur. The illumination comes from the lantern between the feet of the soldiers. The church is full of darkness and it stands silently at the face of French invaders. The hill in the mirrors mid-ground in the monk grasping his firsts which leads the viewers’ eyes to the anonymous figure of Napoleonic army. 

The man with white shirt seems to be a Christ figure. The stance likes Christ on the cross and he has stigmata about Christ. And this man maybe the martyr of the town. That’s why he is in white shirt but not soiled. Also, his clothes are clean which has a big difference comparing to other Spaniards. These people at the back are wearing blood stained and dirty clothes with dark colors. The man is white shirt also gives the squad a pleading symbol. He knows he is going to be shoot. Besides, the V spread arms represent peace and something the squad don’t regard for. Also, this V makes a focal point of the work which becomes a dynamic choice of the composition. His shape mirrors with the death at the foreground which face outwards towards audience and open a space to that of the audience. It seems like he falls into audience’s space and includes viewers’ action. The central figure is also in the strong light opposing to other parts. There is lots of empty space between the central figure. The facial expression of the central figure is stronger than other parts of the work.  hatch brush strokes are visible which creates energetic effect. Lights from the lantern in the background adds drama at the stage. 

The dead bodies who had already been shoot were tossed aside so as to make room for next victims. These dead people were cast aside left and piled up . they would be burnt. Whether dead bodies were picked up is in the basis of whether they carried weapon which shows inhuman treatment to citizens and lacks of human concerns. The paintings shoes clearly that people who were shot were lying on the bloody pools. Callousness and senselessness can be observed in this painting. 

The face of the squad are hidden from viewers but victims can see their face clearly and find that they are being stared down by squad’s guns. Unsoiled clothing means that the squad are above dirty clothes which place them in a higher level. 

These victims are meaningless and useless to the squad. Any live can be quickly shoot down by them. 

The lantern is set between these 2 groups of people which creates a dramatic light at the stage. The light illuminates on the victims to the left side including the monk. From the center of the work and the immediate right, other victims stand next to be shot. The center focus is the man kneeling the bloodied dead bodies which had been executed. Flinging widely of his arms seems that he would like to appeal.  

The squad was engulfed by the shadow showing as a very large, solid, and impressive unit. Their shako form an immutable column. Most of their faces are hidden but the man of the right main victim peeps towards the soldiers. 

This art focuses on the death and the one who would be dead. It is reasonable to conclude that this painting consists essence of death and horror.

Sympathy is aroused from the observation because of the helpless people who are going to die. However, we can observe it from other perspective. These people need to face justice. Oppression is turned against them. The monk reminds audiences the inquisition of Spanish. After experiencing the destruction and death, here comes their fate. Painters didn’t show us the real faces of the executioners because it is really not important that who carries out the justice. Some said that they are French soldiers but some said that their uniform does not support this view. 

Spectators who are watching the execution seems to be innocent because they are not in invasion or uprising. But some said that they are treacherous who had benefited in being Spanish but refusing to fight for their own country. They said these spectators were the cowards who watched the execution of heroes. Guilty of these cowards’ makes that they will not have direct eyes contact with the condemned one or the soldiers. Some of them watched the execution with hesitance while some of them feel shameful with covering their eyes. 

Goya chose not to admire the glory of the leader but the nameless person in the street. Spanish regarded this work as an icon of nationalism. Mass media always draw publics’ attention to the normal peoples’ view of political events even their own experience or their response to conflicts and wars.

Death is an inevitability for us in everyone’s life. This work is about universal and enduring theme that it talks about the death of Spain. The unpleasant quality that the blood is caking and these dead bodies are piling up, the clear fear in this description of characters in the work are alive that are waiting for their fate and death. The true horror is that the moment of central figure before death, the facial expression creates viewers wonder his thoughts and bringing viewers round to our death too.

Source : 

1.Romanticism  by Hugh Honour
(New York : Harper & Row, c1979)

2.Romanticism and art / William Vaughan 

(London : Thames and Hudson, c1994)

3.  A companion to European Romanticism / edited by Michael  Ferber
(Malden, MA ; Oxford : Blackwell Pub., 2005)

4. H. W. Janson, History of Art, 5th ed. (Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1962/1995).

30,000 Years of Art. (Phaidon Press Ltd., 2007) 
5.Art : the world of art, from aboriginal to American pop, Renaissance masters to postmodernism / general editor, Robert Belton ; foreword by Christopher Rothko (New York : Watson-Guptill Publications, 2002)

Romanticism: Gemma Yim talks on Caspar David Friedrich's Wanderer above the sea of mist, 1818.

Title: Wanderer above the sea of mist 

Artist: Caspar David Friedrich 

Completion date: 1817/1818

Material: oil/canvas 

Dimension: 74.8x94.8cm

Caspar David Friedrich, a significant and awe-inspiring figure in the Romantic period, once said, 

The pure, frank sentiments we hold in our hearts are the only truthful sources of art. A painting which does not take its inspiration from the heart is nothing more than futile juggling. All authentic art is conceived at a sacred moment and nourished in a blessed hour; an inner impulse creates it, often without the artist being aware of it. (Jansen, 2005)

According to his words, art itself is more a design than spirit, like an echo from heart. Compared with the art form, the feeling and inspiration of the artist is more important to express the moment of awe and truth and it is clearly shown in all of Friedrich’s painting. In fact, looking at all paintings of Friedrich, it always embraces a high presence of nature and, more specifically, God. In the view of many scholars and art curators, Friedrich’s painting is almost religious, encircled by a heavy sense of philosophy and belief, especially with his background as a protestant. To further study Friedrich’s aesthetic world, the following will analyze a piece of Friedrich’s work, A Wanderer above the Sea of Mist, in terms of its style, historical context and commentary from other artists and scholars. In general, my objective in the following paper is to show the aesthetic and historical context of Friedrich’s work, especially the sense of sublimity and beauty reflected in the painting A Wanderer above the Sea of Mist.

Firstly, regarding to the style of the painting, A Wanderer above the Sea of Mist is an iconic piece of Romantic artwork. What the style of Romanism really is, according to the definition of scholars Duro and Greenhalgh, “Romanticism rejected the universalizing rules of Classicism in favour of an emphasis on the individual imagination, the relationship of the individual to nature, the expression of emotion and a profoundly subjective approach to beauty” (Duro and Greenhalgh, 1992). Hence, with the above features, we can classify the painting as a Romantic artwork with the sense of individuality and sublimity emphasized in its content, composition and colour tone. To begin with its content, the objects chosen in the painting suggests a sense of awe and sublimity. With the presence of the rocky mountains, the mist, the sky and the man, the infinite scenery, the stillness of time and the back view of the men, in some sense, implies the connection between the nature and human, leading the viewer to study the painting in a more philosophical way, like a meditation. Also, with layers of mist, the contour of the objects is rather blurry and unclear, giving a sense of uncertainty and vulnerability to the viewers. Not only does it suggests the vulnerability of men in front of the nature, but also triggers a sense of awe and sublimity to the nature and also God.

In term of the composition of the painting, Friedrich constructed an intriguing setting with the clever arrangement of objects. First of all, instead of painting horizontally as many others he portrayed, he chose to make the painting drawn vertically, which enhances the upright position of the wanderer shown in the painting. Also, there are several diagonal lines that point towards the man himself, including the contour of the mountains on the right and the left, which constructs two diagonal lines and both come to the vanishing point, ending with the wanderer. Besides, as the fog swirls around in the background, it brings the viewer back to the presence of the rocky mountain which the man is standing, going a diagonal line up towards the man. Among all, the most intriguing part is the back view of the man that he face is hidden to the viewers. With those diagonal lines constructed and pointed to the center, the view is in fact concealed by the back view of the men. On one hand, it allow the viewers to imagine the emotion and facial expression of the man, which is probably amazed and awed by the nature and the infinite scenery. On the other hand, the blockage of the man also invite the viewer and recreate the natural scenery with their own imagination, filling the hidden part with their own creativity. This also encourages individual imagination and emotion filled in the painting. Hence, subject to the individual imagination and feeling to the painting, different people may have different version of the natural scenery ahead of the wanderer. Even so, some scholars also have different interpretation to the back view of the wanderer. Instead of inviting the viewer to imagine their own version of natural scenery ahead of the man, some claims that the center of the painting is actually the wanderer himself who climb to the top of the mountain and face the nature with pride and self-recognition. Yet, scholars still commonly view it as an invitation than an emphasis on human ego, especially with the taller mountains far ahead of the wanderer.

For the colour tone used in the painting, it emphasizes a sense of harmony between the nature and human with the soft colours of the sky, the wanderer and the mountains. To analyze the colour element in the painting, it is dominated by a shade of blue and element of red and yellow is much less prominent. Also, even for the clothing of the wanderer, it is also dark blue, matching with the dark colour of the rock he is standing. As shown, all colour used in the painting is harmonious to each other, giving a sense of calm and unity in the whole picture. Besides, the dominance of blue in the painting also suggests a sense of confusion and gloom. Even though it is not necessarily implied that the painter is sad or depressed owing to its situation, the hint of confusion strengthens a sense of sublimity and the stillness of time. And as mentioned, soft colours used in the painting, in some sense, shows the unity of the nature and human as a whole, implying the strong bond between human, nature and God.

Furthermore, speaking of the historical context of the painting, the sense of individuality and sublimity is embedded in the art in Friedrich owing to a web of historical factors, included the Enlightenment movement and the Napoleonic War. For the influence of the Enlightenment movement, since the mid-17^th century, there was a new wave of philosophy prevailing in Europe, called as the age of enlightenment, which emphasized reason, analysis and individualism rather than traditional lines of authority. Under the critics of philosophers like John Locke, Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, it greatly challenged the traditional hierarchy in society, dominated by the absolute monarchy and the religious privileges. Hence, with the rational reasoning and the question to the existing political and social system, it helped the emergence of ideas like individualism and afterwards, freedom and liberty, paving way for the rise of Romanticism in the 18^th century. Among all philosophers in this period, a German philosopher, Immanuel Kant influenced the philosophy in Germany greatly. Apart from promoting the idea of reason and analyze, Kant also introduce his aesthetic philosophy regarding to beauty and sublimity in art. According his book Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime published in 1764, it is divided into four sections and, in the first section of his book, Kant focus on discussing the feelings of the beautiful and the sublime, which, on one hand, feeling of beauty related to “a pleasant sensation but one that is joyous and smiling" On the other hand, feelings of sublimity “arouse enjoyment but with horror" (Immanuel and Patrick, 2011) As shown, the enlightenment advocate the idea od individualism and sublimity and these ideas is clearly shown in the painting of Friedrich, especially in A Wanderer above the Sea of Mist as discussed earlier.

Moreover, speaking of the influence of the Napoleonic War, during the devastating war from 1799 to 1815, a lot of young men were sent to the battlefield to fight against the aggression of Napoleon, included the Germanian states. After the war, even temporary peace was granted under the revision of the traditional monarchy, the Germanian states were still recovering from the savage of the war. Under this circumstance, since Germany was not yet an established nation and have a clear vision of their future, German in that period shared the sense of uncertainty and worry about their future. The worst seems to have passed but the future was still so misty. Thus, shown in the painting A Wanderer above the Sea of Mist, the wanderer seems to climb up to the top of the hill and look out to future and question, what is our future vision? Hence, with the background of the devastating war and the nation building process enhances the feeling in the painting with the sense of confusion and ambiguity. Even though the imagination of the viewers about the hidden scenery is rather subjective, the uncertainty is clearly projected from the misty view in the painting.

In conclusion, Friedrich’s A Wanderer above the Sea of Mist projects a heavy sense of Romanticism with the composition, object used and colour tones of the painting and it provides a vast space for individual imagination. As a Romantic artwork, this painting can always connect the viewer with the emotion created in the picture owing to the sense of stillness and individuality. When we look at the piece in different time period, it touches our soul with the different imagined scenery created in the hidden space. Even though it is an old piece of artwork that drew over 200 years ago, it is always new to look at and appreciate.

Reference:

1. Börsch-Supan, Helmut, Caspar David Friedrich, (München: Prestel, c1990)

2. Wolf, Norbert, Caspar David Friedrich,1774-1840 : the painter of stillness, (Köln ; London : Taschen, c2003)

3. Siegei, Linda, “Synesthesia and the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich”, Art Journal, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Spring 1974), pp.196-204 

4. Prager, Brad, "Kant in Caspar David Friedrich's Frame", Art History, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Feb 2002), pp 68-86

5. Greenhalgh, Michael, and Paul Duro, Essential Art History, (London: Bloomsbury, 1992), pp 257.

6. Jansen, "Culture Art Culture: Caspar D. Friedrich and the Wasteland." Bits of News, March 3, 2005, accessed on 03, April, 2015, http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/154/42/

7. Kant, Immanuel, and Patrick R. Frierson, Immanuel Kant: Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime and Other Writings, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), pp.26, 47

8. Brose, Eric Dorn, "A Revolutionary Challenge", In German History, 1789-1871: From the Holy Roman Empire to the Bismarckian Reich, (R.I.: Berghahn Books, 1997), pp. 62-79

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