1.
Jacques-Louis David
–
Jacques-Louis David was a French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. David later became a supporter of the French Revolution and friend of Maximilien Robespierre. Imprisoned after Robespierres fall from power, he aligned himself with yet another political regime upon his release, at this time he developed his Empire style, notable for its use of warm Venetian colours. After Napoleons fall from Imperial power and the Bourbon revival, David exiled himself to Brussels, then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, where he remained until his death. David had a number of pupils, making him the strongest influence in French art of the early 19th century. Jacques-Louis David was born into a family in Paris on 30 August 1748. When he was nine his father was killed in a duel. He covered his notebooks with drawings, and he said, I was always hiding behind the instructors chair. Soon, he desired to be a painter, but his uncles and he overcame the opposition, and went to learn from François Boucher, the leading painter of the time, who was also a distant relative. Boucher was a Rococo painter, but tastes were changing, Boucher decided that instead of taking over Davids tutelage, he would send David to his friend, Joseph-Marie Vien, a painter who embraced the classical reaction to Rococo. There David attended the Royal Academy, based in what is now the Louvre, each year the Academy awarded an outstanding student the prestigious Prix de Rome, which funded a three- to five-year stay in the Eternal City. Each pensionnaire was lodged in the French Academys Roman outpost, which from the years 1737 to 1793 was the Palazzo Mancini in the Via del Corso. David competed for, and failed to win, the prize for three years, each failure contributing to his lifelong grudge against the institution. After his second loss in 1772, David went on a hunger strike, confident he now had the support and backing needed to win the prize, he resumed his studies with great zeal—only to fail to win the Prix de Rome again the following year. Finally, in 1774, David was awarded the Prix de Rome on the strength of his painting of Erasistratus Discovering the Cause of Antiochus Disease, a subject set by the judges. In October 1775 he made the journey to Italy with his mentor, Joseph-Marie Vien, while in Italy, David especially studied the works of 17th-century masters such as Poussin, Caravaggio, and the Carracci. Mengs principled, historicizing approach to the representation of classical subjects profoundly influenced Davids pre-revolutionary painting, such as The Vestal Virgin, mengs also introduced David to the theoretical writings on ancient sculpture by Johann Joachim Winckelmann, the German scholar held to be the founder of modern art history. In 1779, David toured the newly excavated ruins of Pompeii, while in Rome, David also assiduously studied the High Renaissance painters, Raphael making a profound and lasting impression on the young French artist
2.
Cleveland Museum of Art
–
The Cleveland Museum of Art is an art museum located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on Clevelands east side. Internationally renowned for its holdings of Asian and Egyptian art. The museum has remained true to the vision of its founders, keeping general admission free to the public. With about 598,000 visitors annually, it is one of the most visited art museums in the world, for the benefit of all people, forever. The Cleveland Museum of Art was founded as a trust in 1913 with an endowment from prominent Cleveland industrialists Hinman Hurlbut, John Huntington and Horace Kelley. The neoclassical, white Georgian Marble, Beaux-Arts building was constructed on the edge of Wade Park. Wade Park and the museum were designed by the architectural firm, Hubbell & Benes. The 75-acre green space takes its name from philanthropist Jeptha H. Wade, the museum opened its doors to the public on June 6,1916, with Wades grandson, Jeptha H. Wade II, proclaiming it, for the benefit of all people, forever. Wade, like his grandfather, had a great interest in art and served as the museums first vice-president, today, the park, with the museum still as its centerpiece, is on the National Register of Historic Places. In March 1958, the first addition to the building opened and this addition, which was on the north side of the original building, was designed by the Cleveland architectural firm of Hayes and Ruth and consisted of new gallery space and a new art library. The museum again expanded in 1971 with the opening of the North Wing, the museums main entrance now shifted to the North Wing. The auditorium, classrooms, and lecture halls shifted into the North Wing, allowing this space in the Original Building to be turned into gallery space. In 1983, a West Wing, designed by the Cleveland architectural firm of Dalton, van Dijk, Johnson and this provided larger library space, as well as nine new galleries. Between 2001 and 2012, the 1958 and 1983 additions were demolished, designed by Rafael Viñoly, this $350 million project doubled the museums size to 592,000 square feet. Viñoly covered the space created by the demolition of the 1958 and 1983 structures with a glass-roofed atrium, the east wing opened in 2009, and the north wing and atrium in 2012. The West Wing opened on January 2,2014, the museums building and renovation project, Building for the Future, began in 2005 and was originally targeted for completion in 2012 at projected costs of $258 million. The $350 million project—two-thirds of which was earmarked for the renovation of the original 1916 structure—added two new wings, and was the largest cultural project in Ohios history. The new east and west wings, as well as the enclosing of the courtyard under a soaring glass canopy, have brought the museums total floor space to 592,000 square feet
3.
Cupid and Psyche
–
Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from Metamorphoses, written in the 2nd Century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis. It concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyche and Cupid or Amor, and their union in a sacred marriage. Although the only extended narrative from antiquity is that of Apuleius, Eros, since the rediscovery of Apuleiuss novel in the Renaissance, the reception of Cupid and Psyche in the classical tradition has been extensive. The story has been retold in poetry, drama, and opera, and depicted widely in painting, sculpture, Psyches Roman name through direct translation is Anima. The tale of Cupid and Psyche is placed at the midpoint of Apuleiuss novel, the novel itself is a first-person narrative by the protagonist Lucius. Transformed into a donkey by magic gone wrong, Lucius undergoes various trials and adventures, Psyches story has some similarities, including the theme of dangerous curiosity, punishments and tests, and redemption through divine favor. As a structural mirror of the plot, the tale is an example of mise en abyme. The happy ending for Psyche is supposed to assuage Charites fear of rape, there were once a king and queen, rulers of an unnamed city, who had three daughters of conspicuous beauty. The youngest and most beautiful was Psyche, whose admirers, neglecting the worship of the love goddess Venus, instead prayed. It was rumored that she was the coming of Venus. Venus is offended, and commissions Cupid to work her revenge, Cupid instead scratches himself with his own dart, which makes any living thing fall in love with the first thing it sees. As soon as Cupid scratches himself he falls deeply in love with Psyche, although her two humanly beautiful sisters have married, the idolized Psyche has yet to find love. Her father suspects that they have incurred the wrath of the gods, Psyche is arrayed in funeral attire, conveyed by a procession to the peak of a rocky crag, and exposed. Marriage and death are merged into a rite of passage. Zephyr the West Wind bears her up to meet her match, and deposits her in a lovely meadow. The transported girl awakes to find herself at the edge of a cultivated grove, exploring, she finds a marvelous house with golden columns, a carved ceiling of citrus wood and ivory, silver walls embossed with wild and domesticated animals, and jeweled mosaic floors. A disembodied voice tells her to make herself comfortable, and she is entertained at a feast that serves itself, although fearful and without sexual experience, she allows herself to be guided to a bedroom, where in the darkness a being she cannot see makes her his wife. She gradually learns to look forward to his visits, though he always departs before sunrise and forbids her to look upon him, and soon she becomes pregnant
4.
Brussels
–
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the region of Flanders or Wallonia. The region has a population of 1.2 million and an area with a population of over 1.8 million. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, the secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are also located in Brussels. Today, it is considered an Alpha global city, historically a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels has seen a language shift to French from the late 19th century onwards. Today, the majority language is French, and the Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. All road signs, street names, and many advertisements and services are shown in both languages, Brussels is increasingly becoming multilingual with increasing numbers of migrants, expatriates and minority groups speaking their own languages. The most common theory of the origin of Brussels name is that it derives from the Old Dutch Broekzele or Broeksel, meaning marsh, Saint Vindicianus, the bishop of Cambrai made the first recorded reference to the place Brosella in 695 when it was still a hamlet. The origin of the settlement that was to become Brussels lies in Saint Gaugericus construction of a chapel on an island in the river Senne around 580. The official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lotharingia transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel, Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. Lambert I of Leuven, Count of Leuven gained the County of Brussels around 1000 by marrying Charles daughter, as it grew to a population of around 30,000, the surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion. The Counts of Leuven became Dukes of Brabant at about this time, in the 13th century, the city got its first walls. After the construction of the city walls in the early 13th century, to let the city expand, a second set of walls was erected between 1356 and 1383. Today, traces of it can still be seen, mostly because the small ring, Brabant had lost its independence, but Brussels became the Princely Capital of the prosperous Low Countries, and flourished. In 1516 Charles V, who had been heir of the Low Countries since 1506, was declared King of Spain in St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Upon the death of his grandfather, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and it was in the Palace complex at Coudenberg that Charles V abdicated in 1555. This impressive palace, famous all over Europe, had expanded since it had first become the seat of the Dukes of Brabant. In 1695, during the Nine Years War, King Louis XIV of France sent troops to bombard Brussels with artillery, together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels
5.
Cupid
–
In classical mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and he is also known in Latin as Amor. Although Eros is generally portrayed as a winged youth in Classical Greek art. During this time, his iconography acquired the bow and arrow that represent his source of power, a person, or even a deity, in myths, Cupid is a minor character who serves mostly to set the plot in motion. He is a character only in the tale of Cupid and Psyche. Although other extended stories are not told him, his tradition is rich in poetic themes and visual scenarios, such as Love conquers all. In art, Cupid often appears in multiples as the Amores, or amorini in the terminology of art history. Cupids are a frequent motif of both Roman art and later Western art of the classical tradition, in the 15th century, the iconography of Cupid starts to become indistinguishable from the putto. Cupid continued to be a figure in the Middle Ages. In the Renaissance, a renewed interest in classical philosophy endowed him with complex allegorical meanings, in contemporary popular culture, Cupid is shown drawing his bow to inspire romantic love, often as an icon of Valentines Day. The Romans reinterpreted myths and concepts pertaining to the Greek Eros for Cupid in their own literature and art, in the Greek tradition, Eros had a dual, contradictory genealogy. He was among the gods who came into existence asexually, after his generation. In Hesiods Theogony, only Chaos and Gaia are older, before the existence of gender dichotomy, Eros functioned by causing entities to separate from themselves that which they already contained. At the same time, the Eros who was pictured as a boy or slim youth was regarded as the child of a divine couple, in Latin literature, Cupid is usually treated as the son of Venus without reference to a father. Seneca says that Vulcan, as the husband of Venus, is the father of Cupid and this last Cupid was the equivalent of Anteros, Counter-Love, one of the Erotes, the gods who embody aspects of love. The multiple Cupids frolicking in art are the manifestation of these proliferating loves and desires. During the English Renaissance, Christopher Marlowe wrote of ten thousand Cupids, in Ben Jonsons wedding masque Hymenaei, in the later classical tradition, Cupid is most often regarded as the son of Venus and Mars, whose love affair represented an allegory of Love and War. The duality between the primordial and the sexually conceived Eros accommodated philosophical concepts of Heavenly and Earthly Love even in the Christian era, Cupid is winged, allegedly, because lovers are flighty and likely to change their minds, and boyish because love is irrational
6.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
7.
Jupiter and Antiope (David)
–
Jupiter and Antiope is a painting of unknown date, showing Jupiter and Antiope. On the reverse is a sketch of a young woman and it is possibly attributed to Jacques-Louis David, though the attribution is difficult since David disowned most of the works he produced as a young man. David gave this painting to his cousin Marie-Françoise Baudry and her husband and her grandson Adolphe Guillon left it to the musée de Sens on his death in 1896 where it is now held. It was published in 1911 by Charles Saunier, Jupiter et Antiope, in David, catalogue d’exposition du musée du Louvre, Paris, Éditions de la Réunion des musées nationaux,1989
8.
The Funeral Games of Patroclus
–
The Funeral Games of Patroclus is a 1778 fresco by Jacques-Louis David. It shows the games for Patroclus during Trojan War, with his body and Achilles at the foot of the pyre. It was first exhibited at the Palazzo Mancini in Rome in September 1778 and it was then lost until 1972, when it was acquired by the National Gallery of Ireland, its present home. Régis Michel et Marie-Catherine Sahut, David, lart et le politique, Paris, Gallimard, « Découvertes »,1988, p. s 12,21,23 Prperatory drawing - Louvre
9.
Portrait of Count Stanislas Potocki
–
Its equestrian format is owed to influences from Rubens. Potocki, the subject of the painting, displayed it at Wilanów Palace, ownership passed to the Branicki family in 1892. During the Second World War it was looted by the German forces, then passed into Soviet Russian hands after the war and it is now on show in the Museum of King John IIIs Palace at Wilanów. Media related to Equestrian portrait of Stanisław Kostka Potocki at Wikimedia Commons Portret Stanisława Kostki Potockiego
10.
Belisarius Begging for Alms
–
Belisarius Begging for Alms is a large-format history painting in oil on canvas by Jacques-Louis David. David exhibited the work at the Salon of 1781 after returning from Italy and it is now on show at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille. The theme of mercy is omnipresent in the work, focusing on the three people considered most base, the woman, the child and the old man who embodies the image of Mercy, the hands of these three individuals horizontally convey the idea of weakness involving need and love. The soldier, meanwhile, in the background, lifts his hands vertically to show his astonishment, the three human ages represented give an idea of the glory of youth and the wreck of old age. David shows us a hero, old and blind, begging in the street with a young child when one of his former soldiers, astonished. The setting is Antique, sober, austere and overwhelming architecture is placed behind the depiction of harsh conditions and this shows that the artist wanted to associate Greek style with heroic themes in the context of the concerns of the artists time. In the very composition of the work of David, however, the essence of the tableau juxtaposes several rococo ideas, nonetheless, the neo-classical perspective can still be found, especially in the ideas behind this painting, a revolutionary offers a meditation on the moral heroism in adversity
11.
Oath of the Horatii
–
Oath of the Horatii, is a large painting by the French artist Jacques-Louis David painted in 1784 and now on display in the Louvre in Paris. The painting immediately became a success with critics and the public. It depicts a scene from a Roman legend about a dispute between two warring cities, Rome and Alba Longa, and stresses the importance of patriotism and masculine self-sacrifice for ones country. Instead of the two cities sending their armies to war, they agree to choose three men from each city, the victor in that fight will be the victorious city. From Rome, three brothers from a Roman family, the Horatii, agree to end the war by fighting three brothers from a family of Alba Longa, the Curiatii. The three brothers, all of whom appear willing to sacrifice their lives for the good of Rome, are shown saluting their father who holds their swords out for them, of the three Horatii brothers, only one shall survive the confrontation. Aside from the three brothers depicted, David also represents, in the right corner, a woman crying whilst sitting down. She is Camilla, a sister of the Horatii brothers, who is betrothed to one of the Curiatii fighters. The principal sources for the story behind Davids Oath are the first book of Livy which was elaborated by Dionysius in book 3 of his Roman Antiquities, however, the moment depicted in Davids painting is his own invention. It grew to be considered a paragon of neoclassical art, the painting increased Davids fame, allowing him to take on his own students. In 1774, David won the Prix de Rome with his work Érasistrate découvrant la cause de la maladie d’Antiochius and this allowed him to stay five years in Rome as a student from the French government. There he met Pecoul, contractor for the buildings, and Pecouls daughter. The kings assistant, Charles-Claude Flahaut de la Billaderie, commissioned Oath of the Horatii with the intention that it be an allegory about loyalty to the state, nevertheless, David departed from the agreed-upon scene, painting this scene instead. The painting was not completed in Paris, but rather in Rome, ultimately, Davids picture manifests a progressive outlook, deeply influenced by Enlightenment ideas, that eventually contributed to the overthrow of the monarchy. As the French Revolution approached, paintings increasingly referred to the loyalty to the rather than the family or the church. Painted five years before the Revolution, the Oath of the Horatii reflects the tensions of the period. In 1789, David painted The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons, as revolution in France loomed, paintings urging loyalty to the state rather than to clan or clergy abounded. Although it was painted nearly four years before the revolution in France, in the painting, the three brothers express their loyalty and solidarity with Rome before battle, wholly supported by their father
12.
The Vestal Virgin (David)
–
The Vestal Virgin is a painting by Jacques-Louis David. Its date is unknown, but Antoine Schnapper estimates it between 1784 and 1787,1787 being the year given for it in the 1803 Lespinasse sale catalogue. Sophie Monneret suggests 1783, the year as Andromache Mourning Hector. It is a half length study of a virgin and was rediscovered in 1909. Its attribution to David was contested by Gaston Brière, Klaus Holma and Louis Hautecœur, Antoine Schnapper supported David as its artist by looking at the paintings treatment of the figures hand and robe. Since the 1980s it has been in a collection in the USA
13.
The Death of Socrates
–
The Death of Socrates is an oil on canvas painted by French painter Jacques-Louis David in 1787. The painting focuses on a subject like many of his works from that decade. In this story, Socrates has been convicted of corrupting the youth of Athens and introducing strange gods, Socrates uses his death as a final lesson for his pupils rather than fleeing when the opportunity arises, and faces it calmly. The Phaedo depicts the death of Socrates and is also Platos fourth and last dialogue to detail the final days, which is also detailed in Euthyphro, Apology. In the painting, an old man in a white robe sits upright on a bed, one hand extended over a cup and he is surrounded by other men of varying ages, most showing emotional distress, unlike the stoic old man. The young man handing him the cup looks the other way, another young man clutches the thigh of the old man. An elderly man sits at the end of the bed, slumped over, to the left, other men are seen through an arch set in the background wall. Although he consulted Father Adry, a scholar on the subject, for simplicity, he removed many characters originally described in the dialogues of Plato. However, he included Apollodorus, the man leaning against the wall just within the arch, David also misrepresented the ages of many of the pupils of Socrates, including Plato. Plato would have been a man at the time of Socratess death. Even the face of Socrates is much more idealized than the classical bust that is used as a reference portrait of Socrates. David uses color to highlight the emotion in this painting, the only two serene men, Socrates and Plato, are garbed in a contrasting bluish-white. The more muted color scheme of this painting may be a response to critics of Davids Oath of the Horatii, David signed this painting in two places, he put his full signature under Crito, the young man clutching Socratess thigh, and his initials under Plato. Davids signature placement often had symbolic meaning – for example, in his painting of Stanisław Kostka Potocki, in Death of Socrates, his signatures also have meaning. His initials under Plato are a reference to the fact that the story comes from Plato and his fuller signature under Crito means that this is the character whom the artist identifies most with. This may be a reference for Crito’s position in the composition – clutching Socratess thigh, in this way, David would be seen as a man who likewise clutches at the morals and values that Socrates represents. There is some controversy as to the origins of the painting, vidal states that the younger of Trudaine de Montignys two sons commissioned Davids Death of Socrates in 1786, but Bordes says that the drawing for Socrates…bears the unexpected date of 1782. However, it is possible that the commission in 1786 was for a painting that David had already conceived as early as 1782, regardless of when it was originally conceived, the painting was completed in 1787, in Paris
14.
Portrait of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and his wife
–
It is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. David was paid 7,000 livres for it on 16 December 1788, Rockefeller gave it to the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in 1927, and it was acquired from this institution by the Metropolitan Museum in 1977. It shows the couple in his office, with a wood-panelled floor, in the centre the couple face the viewer, with both their heads in three-quarters profile. Marie-Anne is shown standing in profile looking at the viewer and her costume is that in fashion at the end of the 18th century – a white wig, a white dress with a lace collar, and a blue fabric belt. She rests on her husbands shoulder, with her right hand leaning on the table, antoine Lavoisier is seated, wearing a black vest, culottes, stockings and buckled shoes, a white shirt with a lace jabot and a powdered wig. His face turns towards his wife and he rests his arm on the table. The table is covered with velvet, many papers, a casket. A large round-bottom flask and a tap are on the floor to the right, to the tables extreme left is a chair with a large document-case and black cloth on it. The painting is signed at the left, L DAVID. Europe in the age of enlightenment and revolution, a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries, which contains material on this painting
15.
The Loves of Paris and Helen
–
The Loves of Paris and Helen is a 1788 painting by Jacques-Louis David, showing Helen of Troy and Paris from Homers Iliad. It is now in the Louvre Museum and it was the result of a commission from the comte dArtois. It shows David in his galante phase and was interpreted as a satire on the manners of the comte dArtois, the caryatids in the background are copies of those by Jean Goujon in the Louvre. Cartelfr. louvre. fr Étienne Coche de La Ferté and Julien Guey, Analyse archéologique et psychologique dun tableau de David, Les Amours de Pâris et dHélène, Revue archéologique, vol
