Discovering the Classics through David

The Death of Marat, by Jacque-Louis David, 1793

The neoclassical style developed following the excavation in Italy of the ruins of ancient cities Herculaneum (1738) and Pompeii (ten years later), publications of archeological books by English archaeologists James Stuart and Nicholas Revett, and London “acquiring” the collection of Classical Greek marble sculptures (Elgin Marbles) from the Parthenon in Greece. German archaeologist and art historian, Johann Winckelmann, admired the “noble simplicity and calm grandeur” of Greco-Roman art. He maintained, “The only way for us to become great, or even inimitable if possible, is to imitate the Greeks.”

The Herculaneum Gate, Pompeii – Giovanni Battista Lusieri (1783)

Johann Winckelmann by Angelika Kpaufmann,1764

“Winckelmann’s visits to Pompeii and Herculaneum during the early years of their discovery led to his communications in the form of ‘open letters’, which exposed the blunders of amateur treasure seekers and helped put these excavations into competent hands. For this and his catalog of ancient gems, he has been called the ‘father of modern archaeology’.” – Matthew Immanuel Wiencke, Emeritus Professor of Classics, Dartmouth College

The Neoclassical style appeals to the order, to the intellect and stresses the depth of the subject. Use of elements from Greek and Roman ruins and interest in the Roman-Greco antiquity, Neoclassical artists cared for technical perfection, harmony and balance, dominated by regularity, reason and logic. As I see Neoclassical works, I feel the influence of honesty and realism it may have had on French revolutionists. Works from Jacques-Louis David with Death of Marat, 1793, I see the style is articulating and dramatically appropriate to the artists intended audience. Prior to this painting, David’s Roman-Greco inspired Neoclassical ideas were influenced through interests in German painter Anton Raphael Mengs and art historian, Winckelmann. This interest paved the way to works such as Death of Socrates in 1787 and The Lictors Bringing to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons, two years later. By this time, efforts towards the French Revolution had begun, and his portrayal of Brutus and the patriotic Roman consul who ordered the deaths of his double-crossing sons to save the republic, took on political connotation, just as David did, through his work and personal life.

Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David (1787)

The Lictors Bringing to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons,by Jacques-Louis David (1789)

Neoclassicism in art acquired a new sense of direction with the dramatic success of revolutionary artist, Jacques-Louis David. In Death of Mara, David merged Neoclassical values with revolutionary ideals. His work elevated heroes of the classical past and revolutionary times in a style that immersed calm colors, simple and balanced arrangements, and dramatic tenebrism.

While it seemed that Neoclassical art was evenly expanding with the development of the French Revolution, the progress of Classical music reflected the fall of royal tyranny. Although upper-class patrons continued to commission music, composers began to look beyond the fading patronage arrangement for other means of support. To gratify the tastes of upper-class and middle-class audiences equally, composers refined a style that they felt reflected the appealing values of Classical Greece through the growth of public concerts. To express this style, composers gave definite structure to some categories of music, particularly the sonata, which was the foundation of Classical symphonies and concertos.

German composer and pianist, Ludwig van Beethoven was a major authority of this style. Beethoven’s music assembled the association between the Classical and Romantic styles. After learning the effects of works by Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Beethoven lead the way with methods for inducing emotion through music. As his career progressed, his works became more and more long, complex, and bold, a music progression that capped with his 9^th Symphony which incorporated a vocals in the final movement.

(Below is a link to a scene from a movie about Beethoven. Very good at depicting emotion from 9th Symphony)

“Copying Beethoven”, released by MGM, 2006

Sources:

Beethoven, Musical Style and Innovations. (2015). Beethoven website. Retrieved, Jun 29, 2015, from http://www.beethoven.ws/musical_style_and_innovations.html

Boorstin, David J. (1983). The Discoverers. Random House. New York. Print

David and the Death of Marat. (2015). Khan Academy website. Retrieved, 28 Jun, 2015, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/monarchy-enlightenment/neo-classicism/a/david-and-the-death-of-marat

Johann Joachim Winkelmann. (2015). 18th Century Online Encyclopedia: Enlightenment and Revolution. Retrieved from website, 28 Jun, 2015. http://enlightenment-revolution.org/index.php/Winkelmann,_Johann_Joachim