4 ‘Marxist Context 13. Reflections on Classicism and Romanticism FREDERICK ANTAL \ Frederick Anta eared an international reputation as an at isorian who emphasized the al cls to ule. ccrene ith Mant he Bonin Baap ‘or. he soc at hic wh Henach Waar then wit Max Dor st the University of Vienna where he rected fis doctorate n 1914, fr competing is ‘Gucaon, Amal ered Budepest where he served ssa member fhe sa f the ‘seum of Fine Ars Ws ative cy he developed close tees ith Georg taker (orn 1883) the interatonly renowned Rungtan corsa aesteon tnd cre who become mintrof education inthe communist soverrnent of ela Kan i519 and agar 196 under re Nagy at he tne of the Fangaan Revolution Wen Bela Kus roverment wes defend by 2 ountrrevlatns goverment {oT Ama a Mais, decid to leave Budapest He went fist o Viena and ten (0 Bern wher heeded ul iter came to power n 1933 He ten moved to London, ttre he ive unt hs death In 1954 “ctl disetaton tote “Cascom, Romanticism and Realism i French Painting fromthe Mid ofthe eghicenth Contry to Gea became tre sbjct sees fv rls thet wee ented "Refecton on Classis and Romentcimand pub Tati te ng pean Bringer Nop betwen 135 an 94 epebn Artal posthumous book Clscsm apd Romantic mth Or Sis in A Histor [New York. 1966). The fundamentally Marist point of view of these articles patently Iieted the fama pores of Ns own ca studies Inan impor study of 120 ‘on The Problem of Manners ine Netherands”Trarolted into English in hs Clas bm and Romane, his indeed othe {agaist arene of hs Tt eat teacher Wali eaiy apparent Such an spprosci be evdent nhs ther arty panes forntae, Cedar ur ntwichung der eceno- ond Quattorenermalee In iva ued Foren” Iahbuch fr Konstwsserschat 1924/29), pp, 207 and ‘Suaden sur Got In Quattrocento”Taibueh der presischenKenstsammtungen xLvi(s23) pp 3-92 By 1935, however amarkeddepare em hsp of ew had tle licen he Rg oman sa oes adam yaa connie anf} rash Could deere sch ping Jos TD David Oa ofthe Hort s the mot chroctestc and sting reson of he ou Ick ofthe bourgeoisie onthe ev of the [enc] Revolution” tepetation se Western European and America at History on fer even though had aed Yo po- ‘ide scion Fnercal rience to suppor his pe of ew Trom ths tm ut hs dea in 195 Arta wes stem fn gid in is apple cation of social determinism to at history, In his mastery, though provocative, mano- ipa0h tere Patng ad ts Sol Background: The Bourteos Repub btore ono ce hedicts Ache’ to Power, Fourteenth and Gar Fitecrts Cones London, 1949) Antal vetrned othe subject an cai paper (1924/25) wich Ne had ace ‘wo slic ends in Tecento and early Cuatrocet pat, te one ana the Chapter 1 of Classicism and Romanticism by Frederick Antal. © 1068 by Eso Antal. Ba ‘Books. Ine Publishers, Now York Repintd by permision of Basic Book, Ie, Rotlodge& Konan Paul Lid London, and BiSHO ati Perspectives other irrational (a dichotomy of styles so characteristic of early 20kh-century German land Viennese at history). The significant change in Florentine painting from about 1300 {to 1434 is closely related to the attitudes of the classes in contemporary Florentine so- Git. Thsthe rational sve ofa Gisioara Masai expand byte emergence of 3 popessive upper mde class andthe emotional, sentimema CTaTHEe, and mystical SIVIE-OF Some o Tar covemporare, to the conservative upper mile class andthe lower mide class, Moreover, the ideas of these classes were Ue imwedae causes of the new emerging art. For Antal, the fact ata class accepted af as proor thatthe {lass generated Tin this manner he testo demonstrate hs tess tht "we can under- Stand the origins and nature of co-exstee styles ony i we stdy the various sections of Soctey, reconstruct ther philosophies and thence penetrate to their a” In his book, the link between art and society subject matter, hence the ramon Florentine painting is closely examined the first such iconographic study ofthis arf By investigat- ing iconography against the backdrop of politcal, economic, and social events of the time as well as literature and science, philosophical thought, and religious sentiment {and by so doing revealing his indebtedness to the thought of Max Dvowdk, Aby Warburg, and other), he raises questions of fundamental importance for an understanding of Flor min file persuasively write, he bok hasbeen arly ete fre mi Understanding of original documentary material, for its oversimpliication of certain facts and is selectivity of evidence, even for its alleged failure to present a convincing motivation for the very social changes Antal considers 50 vital to the development of Florentine painting (see the paper by Frederick Hartt on page 293, as well asthe searching reviews of Anta's book by Theodor E. Mommsen, in foureal of the history of fdeas Xt [19501 pp. 369-79, and by Millard Meis, in Art Bulletin XXX1 [1949], 9p. 143-50 and in his Painting in Florence and Siena Aiter the Black Death (Princeton, 1951). Yet this ad ‘verse criticism has failed to invalidate the Marxist approach. Free fem schematic and premature formulations, a number of art historians have succeeded in relating the formal ‘development of styles to social history and attitudes (see the introduction to this book) ‘When he died in 1954, Antal had prepared monographs on Fuseli and on Hogarth, which were published posthumously: Fuseli Studies (London, 1956) and Hogarth and His Place in European Art (London, 1962) He introduces his study on Hogarth by stating tha, the criticism of his Florentine Painting notwithstanding, "I have associated Hogart’s art ‘throughout with is social background as intimately as | did Florentine art and here 0 | have used the themes tink the outlook on life with the style ofthe werk” (p. xx). Until the end he remained convinced of the Marsst conception of the work of aft as “a crea tive experience fused in the crucible of life” = Few conceptions inthe torminology of axt- acturized by certain formally more precise Nntory are an agus andindfintes these terme taken fom earir periods of art. A olelusicom eid ronanfiisn A the same German writer hes doserved the vious {ino the methods adopted by modorn ar styen of French panting daring thi perod Nbturlans to overcome’ ths lifalty the te elghtocsth and eal sneooath Clouly reveal tho liittions ofthe purely contry as follows: the pure “lasses formal entori generally applied by them. of Deld i followed by the "proto Thus, subdivision of th wide and vogue rogue sg of Pron and Grom Ingres llc groupe of casiion ood roment slo 1s rommntlo. late classicism, 1. {tam hastoeaty boon atlempted in which clasiciom with gothic end. manner the work of certain more lnted groups tendencies” that of Ciaull "ary b fare or evn of single ars, iv char- roque wth reabtle tendencies") andthat of Delacrts “romantic high baroque." ‘Anotherart historian be analysed and cla- sod the German painter ofthe same per- ‘od: thus Monga i called an “early clase. cist bythsauthory: Fusll (whose workin this country makes himof special interest English readers) an “early gothcists the FigerCarstons group “high classiest; nother qroup (Runge, Friedrich) “high sothiistsand thoNazarone School (Over. tock, Carnell, ete.) “Tate gothicst."* ‘rom the formal poat of view, all these ‘connotations re certainly correct, Nor ‘can there be any objection in principle To {te te of ferme applicable to the style THEI To descrbo that of ater, periods Cortin terms exit in ste analyte and it (sroasaaSS ae TES prio tiamal caestonton, Theoo veto niffons. however. do_not_take us far ‘ towaa en understanding 2 ths period aalyacd. Is i really sufficient for the purpoeo of historical explanation imply {o devise « nomenclature for changes of style, to deseribe the formal criteria of those changes. of to discover formal sii- lasts between the styles of different periods? To stato that not only Rubens, but also Delacroix. i baroqua ts not t0 explain romantcisn, The questions to be answored are surely these: Why are the styles of the elghteenth and niveteenth contarior sim Te sisioenth fand-sovenToonth-conturies? Why are the artists working about the year 1800 gothic- tmannerietic, clastic, protobaroque, high baroque? What is the reality bend those simlartes, behind these formal caiteria of stylo? What isthe moaning of the conception of sty im is totality? In defining a style 1 beiowe that con: temporary art-blstrian frequent devote too much attention to the formal elements of art at The exponee of ts content. Only {oo often they overlook the fact tht both form and’ content make up-« syle. T we tke sufficient account of content we real. "Note to thi selection appear om page 38, Fredrick Antal 341 ‘20 at once that styles do not exist In a vac- ‘vum, as appoars to be assumed in purely formal art-history. Morecver “4 tont of art which clearly shows its connec: tio with the outlook ofthe different socTal ‘foups for whom it was created, and this outlook in its turn {s not something ab- stract; ultimately itis determined by very concrete social and poltical factors. If therefore, we wish to tndertand a style, ‘nits totality, we_must trace Its connec tion with the society in which # Ba its ois. ‘Once we have realized the character of this lationship, we abal no longer oxag forte the sigatonnoe ef formal sinlat tiesbotweon the styles of diferent periods tothe extent of using thon for purposes of Gefntion, We shal roegnite tho, exe fence of hese sine, search ou het tras causes nd tus rece them to het ‘proper significance. Since the same social {nd pola! conditions, the same octal ftrockare, never rece t ifrent Mata Cal periods ine any siilary can only "pply to cortin aspect of the conditions Sonal enpirenenlienc betes thet ti each periods an only be portal a {tu that uch sare canbe of coast rable importance, asi often th cape, the stroctare of tho settee In question fand their gonoal outlock are fundamen {aly plate to ono another. But equally of ten theta In spe has oer ferent significance’ under gréally changed “Social and political conditions it may ex- oreo ent from that of the earlier period. Its one ‘of the most interesting problems in art- Nistor to explore in ths way the aslo cause of stylistic sinlertiee and eppar tnt rlatonasipe, to show why = certain older sie xara an inptent influence tna later eyo Inthe development of ast. The explanation flows quite naturally tinost atomatically, when we cleatiy frexp the chang inthe soil structure,242 Extrinsic Perspectives in the appropriate ideologios and in the styles comesponding to them. What te the realty behind the terms “lassi” and “romanticism” at the end of the elghteonth ead the begining ofthe inatoonth eoatury? Totus bop with Franco and taco the development of French art from its own roots. Where foreign influences primar ily English onos—are important, 1 shel simply mention the fact. The true causes of such influences —why at » cortan his: torical moment 4 certain foreign style could exert an influence will be Tully comprohensibe only after a study of the development ofthese other counties and discussion ofthe significance ofthe style fa question in terms of its own, besle causes, Even in this sketch of the French ‘development, however, can do no more within the framowork of these articles than present the results of my investiga tion there uo space to support my oan: clslons in deta. shal discuss fist the poture which is generally regarded asthe clasiciote one per excellonce of French eightoonth-oon- tary art: Davis Oath ofthe Hora (1784) (fig. 1). What stgmtcance attachos tote appearance at that moment of a pictorial representation of a heroic scene’ closely related in its general theme to Cornell's tragody? What Is the elgifcance of a pe: ture so simple and compact in its compost tion, a picture in which the principal fg: tures_aze placed soberly side_by_side, reseed in ancient Roman costume, a plo {ure pated with such severe objectivity? ‘What explains its wildly enthustastic 20- caption ata time when Fragonard wa st painting is sumptuous and. whining 70- taco pictures, based on the Rubens-Wat. tau tradition? Tt snot nacessary to give a detalled ao- count of tho welbknown_palicl_and \deological situation i France at this pe- FiodThe rising middle class-procllmod sos ola ds: dence nd pat thm I hed» nw consent may and Diderot, was provided by encient hi {ory. Ths complex of middle-class deals immediately enables us to. comprehend David's ploture. Yeti was painted for the Ministry of Fine Ars? Aga, there n0 nystery. The Court of Louis XV, even more to that of Lone XVi, was anxious to make tome concersons to tke new spit of the ‘dda clas end to wesume the appearance af enlightened absolute. Iwasa reflec. tion of his compromising et Inconsistent and therefore fundamentally hopeless pulley, that the Royal” administration Should yearly have commissioned, through the Ministry of Fine Ate, pltures with subjects drawn from ancient Hetory, pre erably baving. «mora tendency. ‘The ‘whole tendency of Darks panting, how: vor. ts exaltation of patriotism and lve ‘virtue in al ts austnty. the puritanical bconomy of its compotion, ras radically ‘directed against his own patrons. Its over: whelning success, indeed its very exe- tence, was determined by the strong foo tng of opposition then provaling against the demoralized Cour end its. corrupt government “hie picture isthe most characteristic ‘and stiking expression of the outlook of ‘he Dourgeotse-on the eve of The Revoli- tion I is rigid simple, soar objective, {n-s WORT, pusianioaly-tallnal, Simple iroups and stralght lies form the whole ompostion and serve o make i clea and Biking. I isthe ‘method of compotion smnerally known at casscatic. At the Same tine there i great del of objective Aaturalism in this plating, « naturalism {hat determines its sober colouring, ts ac caracy of deal ite cher prevention of Simple objects. This accuracy of detall twas tho result of @ careful prelinnary ‘lustrations sccompanying this selection appear on page 51study of the model. A drawing for one of the female figures (Fig. 2) reveals this palns- taking exactitude which Is almost sculp- tural, This latter tendency camo. into prominence at a later, loss naturalistic, Stage of classicism, a stage in which this style was no longer the expression of the ‘most advanced section of the middle clas In David's early period, however. the sculptural character of the figures was ‘merely the result of his study ofthe model, ‘study which distinguished his figures from the picturesque, but often schematic fand void, rococo figures. This naturalism fof David is as characteristic for the taste of the ising middle class as his class- dan bol are Tavopereble expects iis rationalism. The combination of these two factors in David's Osth of the Horatii was the cause of its outstanding success. It must be remembered that nat- turaliem had to assume a classicistic form {in a historical composition of this kind in order to be accopted at all by the public of that time. For historical subjects could ‘thon only be rendered either ina baroque or a classlistc style, Truly objective nat ‘uralism, however, it much more compat. ‘ble with the latter then with the former. (On the other hand, only a historical picture could exercise any far-reaching influence fon the public of that period. Far there still ‘sated a iily Morar sal th 0- Sit estan othe several pes ef Stinger val dating om Testi aap. Tor their emergence wbave Toe “fisan level. In this scale historical com- ostions were at that time stil rgarded at the highest category of palnting. Classi- im. based on naturalism, was thus the Historically ineiiabe sive of Dx er eee ea te oct background Lotus fors moment darogard this social baclaround and examine the antecedents ofthis picture solely as regards its form tnd its content. Coroll's tragedy st erary source: Powssn's works formal Frecerck Antal 343 ‘one, But in thus evoking the names of Pous- tin and Comeille we are reminded that eg ee maeeel othe a hes at 3 ee eer sions a weap coamlacion eee Lo teererta lon Pht Such pened. Sucre by eer oS pane a teeny Miso Pealgtn tain SoTEE SS ti prt utp h ae emt predentin at pene he Besa at rae ee ee ees nace ee a Scoramereu meena poke reso a ne O ose the classicism of Poussin and of David are ge formal resemblance, in spite * eS a frounds, Tho whole atmcephare of the Exar the outlook on life of the upper mi do cass, could not, despite ts ratinal fem. be a8 advanced in the mid-eoven- toonth century as tat ofthe mide cast 150 years ateron the threshold af he Rov. atuton. Similarly. im the sphere. of ar, the elnstetate companions at Rowan “25 lifer gueatly fom those of David in the de- ‘gree of thelr naturalism which is much ‘more the case in David's work. It is this Increased stress on natualism—so char- , esters of Dvd and tots of to te. ave” Ing middle class—vwhich accounts for the fact that the various pars of the compos- tion ofthe Hora are not welded into any- thing lke that complete unity which is +0 characteristic a feature of Poussin's work, In this way we could retrace the line of development to oven varlior stagos: wo could go back tothe classicism of Raphael. the “inspirer” of Poussin, or to that of ‘Masaccio, the “inspirer" of Raphael.* All Le. rationalistic and at socially ‘and politically progressive momenis in the. ue344 atric Perspectives historical development of the bourgeniste, ‘Raphael's art reflacts the secular and na- tional ambitions of the Papacy, the only \/ power with national potentialities in the aly ofthat period, end at the same time its most advanced and highly organized financial and bureaucratic institution The art of Masuccio appeared at the moment fn which the Florentine upper middle class reached tho zenith of tts power." Thus, in all periods since the Middle ‘Ages in which an advanced outlook arose from advanced economic, social and pot al conditions ofthe mi istic art expressed the afinalism of that class. But in each period, in each country, ‘we are concerned with a different stage in the dvelopment_of the bourgeoisie, and tho different clasicstc styles themsolves reflect these diferent phases, Hore I must anticipate my account of the further dovel- ‘opment by pointing out that this phenom: ‘enon classicism based on naturalism as the style ofthe upper middle class is true only of the earlier phases of the develop ‘ment ofthe upper middle class; as this so- ial stratum became increasingly powerful after the French Revolution, the natural fate factor gradually came to suppress, tnd finaly entizely destroyed, the class ‘istic scheme of composition ‘We poved earlier the question, how a picture so suprising asthe Horail could suddenly appear ft the same period as the sumptuous rococo paintings of Fragonard, ‘The Work of Fragonard and similar artists quite evident reflects the real taste of the Court and ofall social circles allied to ‘he Gourt (especially the weslthiest men in France, the royalist fermirs-généraux. on Sry Sh oeay Ser Pr eres we AS bourtoise, the ideas ofthe Bneylopao- dist, wor ever more consistent dove! ‘pod and widely circulated. the ants ‘were turing increasingly to lassen naturalism. Sige ito. mention bis painting, Husain. marl ‘nd sentimental thomos oF mya ‘were fmportanf antecedents of me fei gia 2 ges) vas 0 mide virtue (sno more chance that the ele ioonthcentury cult of sentiment. fst as that of democracy, came to Face from the more advanced bourotte of Es Ina) The fentimertalty of the Be tures was toa th hero fm i David's work, Ir wee vegan au fundamentally sincere bythe midleclgs Dublc who acclaimed asa reply tothe frvlousness and frequent superfcinity of rococo panting. Gnuzo wae elated fo David. Diderot. who. gcatly edmired Grouses work, wos to Robeson. The herolsm and the much more Pronounced naturalism of David wos only Powe at ‘tine when the Revotuton was tnminest But Gross work the scties und soa: tis was already potting inthis deeton Iisa remarkable fact that the princplos according to which Grouse composed ia larg fay paintings wer also. derived from Poustin. Simple groupe and’ lines, tho grave gesture of clasiciom, deter mined the compositor of then works, Dut they dd not ws yt shew the concentration Inter achieved by Dav, Tht atuelon, though Intstons, was more super, Under the mask of malty much rocoes sensuality stl appeued In the doa Grouze is typical for the transition team morality éf the rococo to the at of who wae Fregnard's chit patzon) sae Eosnstanly ster see Reson bm isn “The Bates Gf Devil Creer set Fogo: Homover vid pesting thogh pny porary with bara and Tao ta, tae suddenly as & poms Sind end ar coupon ‘snply wth Freynan! woul lend cca te neppeee Throughout the second bal f the ah tenth century Les hn tina dati wi the now aod socktlonary ess of te nard will now convey conereta impressions ofa series of different styles provalent be- fore the outbroak of the Revolution. styles ‘which reflect the outlook of different classes, or of different phases in the devel ‘opment of single classes, They are an indiecation ofthe comploxstractre ofthe 30 ley of hoc yor, ta fo ty. of tho pac for whom te historical, ictr More anmualy exited fn he Selon. To provide amore complete stock ofthe his Tree! end erste sltuat6n ofthat ine trol mation fuer group of Historical picture, comsoned, Hie te- Horst, Brie Covomment The spe of eve pio res oF poo hltoial Interest, for thou osclybaroqe=the ual te of seventeenth and elghteenteentary rent artocracee-ths stl, nevetho lope epprosches tho severe pinion of asides compostin (hug of cour. by no mena eo consistently as that of Dvd, the moet propose alaer of Those years, Moreover these baroque ompoctions stow "natratc tats fer ore naredly tan do the ul el funtrococ panting with het mytolg lend allqorica! themes. Thi doe fo the fact tal the subjects are mr com tre, Some of tote Goverment errs tnd tl tons with ch we are lone Cfncemeddenanded subjects from the econ history of France Arising oto the frorenmo” of enlighten shelton {hove pictures wore sequin to ehow the God of popular rales, eapecally Henry Wes ube enacted iy Wagan 01779 Choracteres the mentally of the pop ince im tho daye ofthe Pronde, when tngered by the seprssive methods of ava andthe Gove, Trentesenis-e0 Inelent-on the Tey ofthe Barden In 1048: Mathieu Molt Print ofthe Parlement uged bythe crowd fier totlon to secure the Flees of is bmp soned congue (Fg 4, The spo this pictures undoubtedly baroque. But is Seventy modern feature=e,feeture Srch even relates Io 8 cortai extent {othe tndencls f tho David qroap—ie the aaturaliom of Hts fgoren and of Hs Ichitetonl bark Ar acon: uence this plture, Mstaing an ep Soto rom tho hsory of tho seventeen Satur, patted baroque tye rane Fredrick Antal M5, food and partly supprosied by, naturals the dota, stingy revemblos romantic patting. I looks ae tba een palated half century later? The same Is tru, to tite one other example, of « plcture for which Ménageot received the commission in 1781.1 glorifies anotber popular mon trch since ft shows the Dsath of Leonardo ar Vin! athe ame of aes TAP 8 ‘The plcture itself ls at Anboise, a sketch fori in the Collection Maire. Parts The Tater shows string resemblances with romantic plating expecilly of the Del ‘rf imftators) not mere in lis compoa- ton, but also i ts colouring. The Renae Sance subject inroducen new colour Scheme differing from that of rcaco paint ings, both by resson of is greater natural. fam, and offs uso of certain theatrical tlfects, eg. tho dramatc figure of the doctor in pich-black In foot of the dark- seen background 'N tis stage suffices to note tho exis tence, dung the Cauls KUT period of e- showing rach pirking similarities ‘0 Tomantic_palating and to Indicate Their {aTogcal rource. We shall appreciate the renson for this resemblance only after tur discussion of romanticim tel. 7."David also commenced is work In. the * yaroqueroonco tradition, While still a ‘young man, he had been recommended by Fragonard for the tosk cf decorating the ‘abe uf he talus Tancor Gulmar But during the Seveitir and especialy the eights, he gradusly changed bis syle, Tho toto of a lage section OF the Tputaeoisie was rovoltontzed octal and political coriditions approached the isis the public ow demanded ore ‘ale tency nar Is ips to bdorstand Davis development without {aking this soctel background Into consi eration, Throughout there years he co sistnty developed towards a naturalistic Clnssciam. He approached this aim bythe Study of syle of many different periods having the same tendency in common. oF st least containing elomen's that could be Dawid’> ye ¥ ee y Seer «atively 0 gaat in Tie Revolt . arti an 34 xtrisi Perspectives {nterproted in this sense: ancient Roman sculpture and cameos, early soventeenth- contury painting of the Bolognese and Roman schools (Carraces, Reni, Domeni- ‘chino, the revolutionary art of Caravaggio, recent English engravings with classical ‘subjects, etc. Thus David created the style of the French bourgeoisie on the eve of the Revolution; the Oath of the Hora fis the culminating point of this develop- meat David's political views inducod_him Fr was made i longed tothe timate circle of Robespiere's polit ical friends, The great experiences of the bourgeois Revolution, David's intimate contact with dally events, exercised a pro- found influence on his ar. ‘We can only realize the great stop from the Oath of the Horatii.to the Oath of the Tennis Court 1701, Versailles), if we take into account the official meaning of “his- torical et was 11 great bresch of the convention for an historical painter to take a contemporary occurrence and present it without allesor- cal trappings as an BistorcaT picture (ce. a bolosging TT Hot Hg totoemed ‘eatogory of painting). This Dae aid with his Oath of the Tennis Court. We can see ‘evenmore clearly nthisplcture that, at this stage of the development, classiclam and naturalism were inseparable. A. conten: porary event of groat importance (the oath af the Deputies of the Third Estate that thay ould not leave their posts) inspired this classiclstichistorical painting, and precisely for this reason the naturalistic factor necossarly predominated to & hitherto unheardof extent, This is so, even though the composition i fundamentally an extension ofthe classcstie scheme of the Hora. Tho gostares ofthe Hore are rultiplied inthe gestures ofthe Deputies fs thoy take tho oath, but they are greatly tnlivened and have all the tension of at ality. So long as classicism remained in contect with reality, during the French ‘bourgeois Revolution t necessarily led toa ‘more and more consistent naturalism. ‘This conclusion is supported not merely by the Oath of the Tennis Court or the Death of Marat (1703, Brussels)—the deeply moving pathos of which is largely ‘due tothe fact that David saw Marat on the ay before his assassination, then also in his bath writing down his politcal ideas, and was able thus to reproduce from mem- ory the position of -he dead revolutionary with striking truth itis confirmed also by David's portraits. While his earlier por- traits wore stll to « greater or lesser de- sree Influenced by the baroque tradition, those of the Rovoluton period are ofa truly stupendous immediacy: they embody the ‘consistent naturaliem towards which his historical pictures were leading him, Char- ‘acteristic portraits of this most fruitful period in David's career. in which art and IMfe were so intimately related are, e., ‘the portralt of the wellknown Deputy Bardo (Fig. 6), shown in a spontaneous ‘attitude while at a meeting of the National Convention: or that of Lepellatier de St. Pargoau (Fig. 3, the famous champion of ‘the Rights of Man, surprising inthe diract- ness ofits appeal and depleting the ugli- ness of his features with a frankness that would have been ‘impossible before the Revolution, After the fall ofthe revolutionary Jaco- 32, represent patixcbourgeaise. a oalthior stratum of ‘he middle class cane to power undes the Digeciaire. The new fashionable society whieh its door former royalists, soon Turned its back-on_tho so- vero republican eal with its far too asta ity. This social and political change put an end to David's polit~ teal caroor it also eXerciaed « prolound Influence on hs ar. The large hiterical Dalating he produced during fhe Directore perlod, he concelved in prison, Into which he was cast for hit allianca to Robesch pure Se plerre It depicts the scene in which the ‘Sabine women reconcile their Roman hus- bands end their Sabine relatives (1790, Louvre). This pleture no longer shows the revolutionary political tendancy-that was fo striking ip the Horati of 1784 or in the ‘Brutus of 1780 (David was bold enough to paint the lattor subject instead of the Corolanus with which he had been com- rissioned by the Royal administration). If there is any politcal intention at all in the Sabines it is toward conciliation of the several factions, which was the conser- ‘ative policy of the Directoire. With the {hanged outlook, we find 8 change of style fn the picture, David no longer aimed at concentration and clarity: be now gave & rathor overcrowded compilation of boauti- fully posed attitudes. In thls. pleture David's classicism has retreated from the position of advanced and progressive nat tralism he had attained in his historical platings shortly before and during. the Revolution; t has become almost seulp- tural, His former naturalism as by no ‘means disappeared, but itis confined to the details and is no longer the dominant feature ofthe figures, now posed like sta ing the strictly decorous Revolution, now plays an important r6le. David proclaimed his new stylo as « close approximation to Greok ert; he bogan to study the Itlian Drimitives and Greek vase painting. Teken {8a whole, those stylistic festures expross the ideas of «fashionable society, pre- ‘coupied with the pleasures of life. It is this combination of oyfulness with a some- What archaistic elogance which. charac. terizes David's now styl. His_portrats during these yoars reveal a similar change, Thus, The portal of M. Sérisiot 1704, Louvre) or of Mme. Récamior (1900. Louvre) show an elegant simplification of Hine_whick, However, is totally different from the powarful simplicity and concen: Frebick Antal 47 ‘tn the snot rude aaa of he portraits a The lan ots Revelation has enished Under the Napolonic siz Daxid eat again brought fnto close touch with con- temporary events: he tocame the Em: peror's promier peintre. This regime was a ompound of rationalist absolutism, ml tary dictatorship, bourgele role, liberal logisltion, together withthe resurrection and creation of an aristocratic cour trad tion its art was similar complex: more over, i changed its chemctor during the Suocossive. phases of the régime. The Aiferences and divergent styitc posibi- ites ofthe various types of paiating seare to some degree accentuated but they also to some extent canvergec more than hith- ceo. The latter tendency the more signit- icant fom the plat of view of art-develop ‘ment, Daxids sas important period, when hi postion was unigue smang the pant ‘erm of Europe, had by thal time come to an sad, novertholoss is work during the ‘Napoleonic _period”is-of great_historical He was commissioned by Napo- Toon to pant ‘several lar ptures of In portant caremoull occasions in the En Doro’ career. The Tusin of clas nd naturalism in the Coronation of Nepo- leon (TBO. Loure) is evan moro intimate than tn tho Oath ofthe Tennis Court for the subject was aolomn act of State that required to be presented neturlisically snd correct i all ts ceromonil detail atthe order ofthe Court As a result, only romants ofa classicistic composition re taln (espectally tn the lage figures atthe Sidon of the pictre): th oad towards nat- tralism was clored aver for the category of large coremoniel patntngs. But in the Iistorical pictures dealicg with antiquity punted daring these yeas (e-.. Leonidas 4 Thermopylae, 1014. Lover). David's Classico ns Tost tts former vitality i Inv bocome ad and expose slp {ural Only’ the detalls andthe over: crowded character of the composition as Hhealeon348 Extrinsic Peapectives ‘hole reveal traces of naturalism. David, ent im the work thet originated during his trained in the traditions ofthe eightoonth Brussels exile (he was exiled by the Reston, century, could not discard the boliof in ation government bacause ho had voted for the paramount importance of historical the execution of Loule XVI). Living ine Paintings dealing with classical subjects: purely bourgeois milieu, the former court. ‘on the other hand, such paintings could no painter produced bourgeois portrlte that longer have thelr former vitality, their are among the mest naturalistic of any ‘mmediste topical and progressive appeal portraits dating frum those yours. But ie tn the drab reality of bourgeois existence, thi last period of bs lie his progroseive, ‘once that class had consolidated its domi- ness 1s strictly confined to this sphere ‘ating position. Honce. the classicism in there could be no groator contrast thon Davids historical paintings dealing with thet between the aaturelism of his pon ‘anclent history could no longer be a pro- traits and the lifeless, immobile, even fressive factor: it necessarily became an academic classicisn of_his Venus and ‘obstacle to further progress in art. Thore Mary (1824, Brussels. A groat gulf dWvides ts thus « division of Davids at, according the poriod of David's old-age fom Thaker, to ‘its subject. into a classiistic type olutionary period, hon ho was torioel which Is retrogrossive, and a naturalistic in every Sa . when his He type which is progressive, snd his ar, his polaigs and his historical This division becomes oven more appar paintings formed an ineparabo whole NOTES 1 W. Friedlander, Hauptsttomungon der franadslchen Malore! von David bis Cézanne, 1-— Von David bis Delacrts. Leia. 190 2. Landsberger, Die Kunst der Gocthovit, Leipaly, 191. ‘8 Tho amception of ie, however, of tho patrons of the acti Is wot nessa the sme as thet ‘which is oxpressed in the plcturs ordered by them. But itis very sigufcant thatthe chet pa trons of Poussin were high officials, bankers and merchant. and nol aatoctas. Tho ease of ‘Uo Sueur the initatr of Pousin's yo is qulte ima. ‘4 The situation was entirely diferent inthe later part of the reign of Louis XIV. the period in which considerations of reisiondetormined an atonal pole leading toa grave seme ‘weakening ofthe country, the period of Madame de Mantenon Une death of Celbort the ee ‘ation ofthe Bact of Nantes and the persecution of the Protestants that penncaialyteet ‘tgnfcant sction of the French mid clas. The spe of panting a his Later period war no longer classes, but baroque: Delaouse, Antoine Coype, 5 Let us tae, for example, this line of development: Poustn, Christ dlvring the Keys to Peter (Bridgewater House)~Raphael. Christ delivering the Keys fo Peter (Melon aol Abert Mer ‘soum)—Masacci, The Tibute to Capser(Forener. Carmine). {8 Almost immediately afterwards the power ofthis class declined rapid 7 indeed. wh, in 1943. drawing by Vincent fr ths picture wes exhutited, had agret suo: oss in omaite ciclos Thus an engraving by Conway (176) aftr Gavin Hamilton's Hector and Andromach ‘encod Davids painting in 1789 of tho sume subject. lf