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 paintings of his day concerned themselves more with frivolity and design, Joseph Marie Vien concerned himself with returning to the ideals of classical Greek and Roman antiquity. His style was minimalist in shapes and design, but his goal, as an artist, was for the thematic weight of his pieces to carry its weight.
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Jacques Louis David
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 Bonaparte’s accomplishments in life. The painting being alluded to is the famous, Napoleon Crossing the Alps. This picture not only embodies the allure Napoleon himself wanted to convey, but it reflects the spirit and mood of artists in that period too. This portrait was painted by the man often credited for being the most influential French painter during the neoclassical art movement, Jacques-Louis David. David personified the profound shift in societal values through his style of art: From the pre-French Revolution days of Rococo art that espoused frivolity, excess, and wealth toward more romantic, more classical, and moral-driven style of painting.
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