When the name “Napoleon Bonaparte” is mentioned, the visual that immediately pops into minds is one of the former Emperor sitting on a horse, braving the stormy weather, and gesturing his hands forward to symbolize the inevitability and greatness of his conquests. This iconic image was intended by design to become indelibly linked with Napoleon [...]
In our society, an obsession with the human body is commonly interpreted to signify a perversion. To neoclassical painters, such a cynical view is understandable. Not because the person himself (let us be honest about the popularly accused gender) is perverted per se, but because etiquette and morality has trumped understanding and reason. This signifies [...]
The vision of Joseph Marie Vien had for his paintings were to resurrect a classical style of art that had been led astray. Born in France in 1748 during a time when revolutionary sentiments began cooking, Joseph Marie Vien became a revolutionary in his own form. He began a movement through his neoclassical style. Whereas [...]
The movement of neoclassicism in art is often mistakenly characterized by its secularism. French painters that became the leaders of the neoclassical movement such as Jacques Louis-David and Joseph Marie Vien dedicated their paintings to support the political and social changes of their time. Namely, the French Revolution which sought to reject in one fell [...]