The Darkness Of The Philosophies In Jacques-louis David’s And Francisco Goya’s Works
The Darkness of Philosophies
The Enlightenment period had a major impact on the art that we produce today. The Enlightenment era was characterized by three philosophies, namely neoclassical romanticism and realism. The three ended up having a great deal in common. A revolution took place in 1789. This led to the darkening of art in these periods. The artists and the artworks shared many similarities. Death of Marat and Saturn Devouring One of His Children are two works that illustrate this.
Jacques-Louis David created Death of Marat in 1793. The painting was painted with oil on canvas. The painting depicts Jean Paul Marat being murdered. Marat was an influential writer in the French Revolution and David’s best friend. Marat is shown in a bathtub with a dark backdrop. He is slouched and smiling, with his head tilted sideways. On the paper and water in his hand, you can see the blood. You can see the blood on his hands, the white sheets behind him and the red quill pen that he is holding in his left hand. Charlotte Corday stabbed him as he sat in the tub writing. This painting is muddy, dull and dreary, but it tells a dark and monstrous story. This painting was Neoclassical, and it was also the first to have a war-like theme. This was the first dark, savage work of art (Kleiner 785). Saturn Devouring One of His Children is a painting by Francisco Goya. It was probably created between 1819 and 1823. This work was originally created as fresco and then mounted onto canvas. The mythology depicts Saturn devouring his child after he learned of a prophecy saying that one his own children was going to dethrone his throne. This dark fresco depicts Saturn as a giant monster with wild, muddy eyes holding a small, mangled body. Saturn’s huge mouth is engulfing the headless, mangled body. Saturn’s fingers are covered with bright red, dripping blood. This scene is very disturbing and gory. It’s made of dull muddy colors that make viewers quake in horror and disgust. Goya drew this fresco because he was depressed about time passing. Saturn’s Greek names, Kronos and khronos are very similar. It was this idea that inspired his art. This is a piece from the romanticism theory which shows the dark emotions that romanticism should portray (Kleiner 805).
These two artworks have many similarities, both visually and contextually. Both artworks have a historical component. Death of Marat, a propaganda picture based on the assassination one of Marat’s closest friends is a painting that was inspired by this event. It was a historical event which had happened. Saturn Devouring A Child is a historical, mythological story, but it isn’t based on real events. This artwork tells a story that is personal and not just propaganda. They both depict violence, death and sadness brought about by the Revolution. These two paintings have dark, muddy colors with only the red of the blood and the white of the skin standing out. They are both on dark backgrounds. The artworks themselves are quite similar.
Jacques-Louis David’s art became well-known during the French Revolution. David was an artist who painted propaganda to inform people about the events of the French Revolution and encourage them to think. David thought that paintings should depict morals, as well as noble historical events (Kleiner 782). David’s work is similar to Goya’s because they were both created at the same time. The only thing they share is Death of Marat. Goya suffered from a mysterious illness which temporarily rendered him blind, deaf, paralyzed and even partially paralyzed. However, he recovered his sight, hearing, and other disabilities. He became increasingly negative and discouraged over time. Saturn Devouring One His Children was one of the “Black Paintings” that he created later. Death of Marat, Saturn Devouring His Children, and Goya’s work under David have a lot in common.
You can see how the art of the Enlightenment was violent and dark because of the French Revolution. Neoclassicism, Romanticism and Neoclassical philosophy are all very dark. In this period, the majority of art was about death, depression, or propaganda. Though some pieces of art were unique, most mirrored darkness and violent images. Saturn Devouring A Child of Saturn and Death Of Marat shared many visual and contextual similarities.
