Andrew Horton

LTC Ingersoll

Help Received: Sources, Peer Review, Grammarly   W. Andrew Horton

Word Count: 1553

 

Often, paintings will show people things of the past that otherwise people may have heard stories about or would have been lost to time without someone recording it in a picture. There are two paintings that I have thought of to analyze to show the differences and similarities that many painters share across time and styles. The two painters that I want to explore in the following few paragraphs are Wilhelm von Kaulbach and his Crusaders Before Jerusalem and the painting The Oath of the Horatii, painted by Jacques Louis David. I will compare and contrast these two works based on three criteria: their form, subject matter, and context. I will also begin by giving a brief introduction to each painter and their preferred painting style during the times they painted these works.

Jacques-Louis David was considered one of (if not) the best Neoclassical painters of the era that he lived. He would paint during the French Revolution and the rise and fall of Napoleon. This influence from many of his experiences would lead him to follow many of the ideals of the Neoclassical age, such as masculinity, stoicism, and patriotism. This alone would help push him into painting The Oath of the Horatii. This will become more apparent further into the paper as I begin to write out my analysis of the similarities with the other painting. Still, essentially the painting itself is the representation of those ideals.[1] On the other hand, Wilhelm von Kaulbach was a painter that was associated with the German Romantic Movement. His work presented “an idealized vision of history, which fed a nationalistic spirit and appealed to contemporary taste.”[2] He would also take a lot of inspiration from artists that we have already learned about, such as Raphael and Albrecht Durer.[3]

The forms of both paintings are discernable and accountable to the styles that the artists were both interested in when they painted these. As I stated before, The Oath of the Horatii is in more of a Neoclassicism style, while Crusaders Before Jerusalem is in a more Romantic style. The Neoclassicism style stems from the influence and the admiration of the classical style of things. Specifically, the reproduction of works that one might have found in ancient Rome (with a slight European twist to it).[4] Furthermore, the German Romantic Style has two main strategies: a critical appraisal of the Fichtean project that helps to show what the ultimate principle of governing is and claiming that there are some kinds of artistic practices that there are limits to intelligence in art while also being able to transcend those limits.[5]

The forms of both paintings are similar, as one can tell from looking at The Oath of the Horatii and Crusaders Before Jerusalem one can notice that they both use a style that creates a sense of realism and uses several bright colors that show most of the faces and the bodies of all the characters within it. This could have something to do with the fact that they are both oil on canvas paintings, and this (like other painters such as Jon van Eyke) allows the painter to be incredibly detailed and do more than they might be able to do with detail when compared to a fresco. Looking at Figure 1, one can fully grasp the detail that David put into his work and Rome’s influence on his ideas. The arches are one good example of this and as well as the clothing and weapons that the people are wearing. Looking to Figure 2, one can see how there is an influence from past events and people with a religious connotation through the massive Jesus in the sky. However, one massive detail where they are different is in their size. The Oath of the Horatii is merely 10”8’ x 14’[6] while the Crusaders Before Jerusalem is a whopping 61” x 74 ”[7]. This is important because the bigger the canvas, the more room that the artist has to work with, and he can add more details to the smaller parts that David wouldn’t have been able to do on the much smaller canvas. One final form strategy that I noticed between the two paintings is that they both used linear regression to show the depth of the painting. The vanishing points of both paintings are near the center of the painting and try to show that the painting is meant to show distance. For Oath of the Horatii, the arches are intended to regress into the background as if the people are truly in a real home and don’t live in a two-dimensional space. Crusaders Before Jerusalem is more upfront with it as one can clearly see the vanishing point of Jesus in the sky, and in the distance, there is a horizon.

The subject matters for both paintings are undeniably different. However, they have some form of similarity when one thinks about it more profoundly. In Oath of the Horatii, the three brothers are swearing to their father that they will fight another family, and the father appears to be lifting the swords in a religious praying sense.[8] In Crusaders Before Jerusalem, one can clearly see the religious connotation that Wilhelm von Kaulbach was attempting to convey. Jesus is in the sky and what one can assume is the Ark of the Covenant being walked through the center of the painting while there are praying people at the bottom. Furthermore, while they both refer to religion, they both also refer to the battle between two opposing sides and ideals. Oath of the Horatii the three brothers are going to fight another three brothers from an opposing family that lived in a different city-state to determine who won a war between Rome and that other city-state. Crusaders Before Jerusalem shows the crusaders as they began their approach towards Jerusalem and how they would take back their holy city. Both of these battles would be bloody, claim the lives of many men, and be worthy of their own paintings to tell the story of the people who fought during these battles.

The context of both paintings can be hard to understand because artists can sometimes be spontaneous for largely, no reason at all. However, from what I can find, there is some account of why these painters did paint these. For instance, Wilhelm von Kaulbach had a reputation for painting religious paintings, such as his painting Destruction of Jerusalem.[9] It’s safe to say that he was heavily influenced by religion and would use that influence to connect with his audience, which would have been predominantly white and Christian, as mentioned before and shown in Figure 2. He also could have been influenced by his friend and colleague Raczynski. It is stated that this man helped Kaulbach with many financial problems and that his paintings were admired by Raczynski even though he was a catholic aristocrat and Kaulbach was a middle-class painter.[10] Oath of the Horatii owes its context to David’s experiences when he went to Rome and won the Prix de Rome. After this, he would spend six years in Rome and come back to Paris to paint using the values of stoicism, masculinity, and patriotism (all of which were looked upon in the Roman Empire as highly sought-after traits). Specific to this painting, the subject was inspired by the playwright Horace. This painting was intended to be a part of didactic history paintings. This painting was requested by King Louis XVI of France and was intended to help the public morals improve.[11]

In conclusion, these two paintings have differences and similarities that show themselves through such connections as the form, subject matter, and context. The styles of both of the paintings are different but have similarities that help us to connect them to relatively the same time period. This can be attributed to their linear regression and color usage. However, with this connection, one needs to keep in mind that no matter how close these two paintings look, they will always be different because of their subject matter. Oath of the Horatii owes its subject matter to the Horatii themselves as they took an oath to defeat the enemies of Rome and save their city. Crusader of Jerusalem owes its subject matter to the pursuit of a capture of a city purely for religious purposes. Both of these paintings’ context will also help establish connections and differences as they were both inspired by some form of personal beliefs such as the Romans or Christianity.

 

 

 

Works Cited

Artrenewal.com. “The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus by Wilhelm Von Kaulbach.” Accessed April 26, 2022. https://www.artrenewal.org/artworks/the-destruction-of-jerusalem-by-titus/wilhelm-von-kaulbach/24405.

Mencfel, Michał. “Chapter 10 Aesthetic Views, Writings on Art, Patronage.” Brill.com. March 29, 2022. https://brill.com/view/book/9789004508453/BP000018.xml.

Metmuseum.org. “Crusaders before Jerusalem.” Accessed April 26, 2022. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436815.

Metmuseum.org. “Neoclassicism.” Accessed April 26, 2022. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/neoc_1/hd_neoc_1.htm.

Frank, Manfred. “The Philosophical Foundations of Early German Romanticism.” Review of Philosophical Foundations of Early German Romanticism, by Fred Rush. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, December 9, 2004. https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/the-philosophical-foundations-of-early-german-romanticism/.

Stokstad, Marilyn, and Michael Cothren. Art History. Harlow: Prentice Hall, 2010.

Britannica.com. “Wilhelm Von Kaulbach.” Accessed April 26, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-von-Kaulbach.

[1] Marilyn Stokstad and Michael Cothren, Art History (Harlow: Prentice Hall, 2010), p. 934.

[2] “Wilhelm Von Kaulbach,” Britannica.com, accessed April 26, 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-von-Kaulbach.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Cybele Gontar, “Neoclassicism,” metmuseum.org, accessed April 26, 2022, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/neoc_1/hd_neoc_1.htm.

[5] Manfred Frank, “The Philosophical Foundations of Early German Romanticism,” review of The Philosophical Foundations of Early German Romanticism, by Fred Rush, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, December 12, 2004, https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/the-philosophical-foundations-of-early-german-romanticism/.

[6] Stokstad and Cothren, Art History, p. 934.

[7] “Crusaders Before Jerusalem,” Metmuseum.org, accessed April 26, 2022, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436815.

[8] Stokstad and Cothren, Art History, 934

[9] “The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus by Wilhelm Von Kaulbach,” artrenewal.org, accessed April 26, 2022, https://www.artrenewal.org/artworks/the-destruction-of-jerusalem-by-titus/wilhelm-von-kaulbach/24405.

[10] Michał Mencfel, “Chapter 10 Aesthetic Views, Writings on Art, Patronage,” Brill.com, March 29, 2022, https://brill.com/view/book/9789004508453/BP000018.xml.

[11] Stokstad and Cothren, Art History, 934.