Deep into Painting

 "Oath of the Horatii" (1784) by Jacques-Louis David Written by Dipanjan Kundu Jacques Louis David drew this painting, christened "Oath of the Horatii" in 1784 and it was exhibited in the following year. This painting instituted a new style in art called Neoclassicism. Previously, the prevailing parameter in France was the Rococo style, as formulated by Boucher and Fragonard. The style, that appealed to the aristocracy, had become formulaic. Critics like Diderot were propounding an art that could bolster virtuous demeanour. During the Enlightenment per iod, the philosophers like Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot posset the idea that the rational should supercede traditional and spiritual entities. During this period, both the monarchy and episcopal institutions were immensely mighty and these Enlightenment philosophers were countering such dominant ideologies. This painting teems with an anecdote from the ancient Roman history. The early Roman state is ...

 "Saturn Devouring His Son" (1819-1823) by Francisco Goya Written by Dipanjan Kundu Among the scariest paintings of history, which include Caravaggio's "Judith Beheading Holofernes", Gerard David's "The Judgement of Cambyses", Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights", Henry Fuseli's "Nightmare", Munch's "The Scream", the most striking is Francisco Goya's "Saturn Devouring His Son", drawn between 1819 and 1823. The mural is grounded upon a prominent anecdote of Greek mythology. The Greek king of Titans, Cronus, named Saturn in Roman, usurped his father's throne. It was prophesied that the same destiny he would encounter. So he swallowed his own sons, though his wife, Rhea, hid their third son, Zeus or Jupiter, who ultimately eliminated Cronus from the throne. Goya has rendered several alterations in the painting to accentuate the horror and intensify the desperation, exuding fr...

 "The Death of Socrates" (1787) by Jacques-Louis David Written by Dipanjan Kundu In "The Death of Socrates" (1787) Jacques Louis David ostends the features of Socrates, ensconced in the middle, as a stoic philosopher, embracing death nonchalantly. Plato in his dialogues, like "Phaedo" and "Crito" recounts that his teacher, Socrates, was accused of questioning the Athenian deities and corrupting the youth. Beside the execution by drinking hemlock, he was given the alternative of exile also. But Socrates, a lifelong intrepid champion of truth and spiritual triumph, ushers in death. This demeanour of firm commitment and resolve to value his ethics more than life is brightly reflected in the painting. The uplifted left hand of Socrates pointing to the firmament reinstates his tenacious belief and assurance behind his decision. The light from the upper left corner illuminates his stoic, calm composure, which is in vivid contrast to the r...

  "The Death of Marat" (1793) by Jacques-Louis David Written by Dipanjan Kundu   “The Death of Marat” (1793) by Jacques-Louis David is a revolutionary painting in that it was drawn during the French Revolution and it radically upheld the Enlightenment precepts of empirical wisdom and scientific vista against the superstitions and medieval blind faiths endorsed by the church. Owing to the French Revolution that had begun in 1789 France was enunciated a republic in 1792. Though it was immensely invigorated by the American Independence, the French mass was o scillating to and fro regarding the dilemma between the royalist and the republican ideals. However, David, who joined the Jacobin Club, was resolutely vouchsafing the revolution and etched out its maverick principles through his paintings based upon classical themes, subsuming “The Death of Socrates”, “The Oath of the Horatii” etc. By the dictates of the revolutionary government, he apotheosized the revolution...

 "A Philosopher Giving a Lecture at the Orrery" (1765) by Joseph Wright of Derby Written by Dipanjan Kundu   Joseph Wright of Derby painted this picture, christened "A Philosopher Giving a Lecture at the Orrery" to manifest the Enlightenment spirit of empirical epistemology founded upon scientific, rational perception. In the painting, we see a demonstration of an orrery, a mechanical model of the solar system. This model, needless to say, was used to convey the idea of the heliocentric universe, superseding the unscientific formulation of a geocentric conception, buoyed by the chur ch for long. The eighteenth century was an age of new discoveries, colonialism, inception of industrial revolution - an era of prose and reason, as Matthew Arnold has appropriately streamlined. The orrery is used to exhibit the planets rotating around the sun, making the universe seem almost like a clock. This painting, if studied closely, can lead us to some amazing explora...

                            "The Swing" (1767) by Jean-Honore Fragonard                                             Written by Dipanjan Kundu "The Swing" is an instantiation of a typical Rococo art by Fragonard who moved away from the Baroque art in his early career. The painting was occasioned by a commision Gabriel Doyen chanced upon from a courtier who fancied himself hidden in bush and his mistress on a swing which would be rocked by a bishop. The frivolity of the proposal let Doyen pass it on to Fragonard. Having perceived attentively, you will experience nature in its abundance and fertility, conducive to the sensuality of the p...