Jacques †Louis David Essay

We know that through out our Art History many artists have made themselves a name in this world. We have learned about the different periods of art history and the artist involved in those periods. Listening about all theses artists really touched me. There is so many to talk about, but I have pick one. Jacques Louis David was a great painter painting was considered his strength. He is one I really liked. Jacques Louis David was born on August 30 1748 and then he died December 29 1825. David was considered â€Å"the most celebrated French artist of his day and a principal exponent of the late 18th-century Neoclassical reaction against the Rococo style† (Britannia Encyclopedia). His father had died when he was nine and his mother left him. His uncles who were architects took care of him. He was not considered a good student. â€Å"He had a facial tumor that impeded his speech, and he was always preoccupied with drawing. He covered his notebooks with drawings† (Jacques-Louis David. org). He never paid attention to his studies just focusing on his art. He once said, ‘I was always hiding behind the instructor’s chair, drawing for the duration of the class’† (Jacques-Louis David. org). He wanted to be a painter but his uncles and mother wanted him to be an architect. He followed his heart and went to study with Francois Boucher, who was the famous artist of that time. The times were changing and so was the art. Boucher decided to send David to his good friend Joseph Marie Vien to study with him. David ended up attending the Royal Academy well he was there. David around 1770 to 1774 attempted to win a scholarship. He tried four times before he finally won. â€Å"David attempted to win the Prix de Rome, an art scholarship to the French Academy in Rome, four times between 1770 and 1774; once, he lost according to legend because he had not consulted Vien, one of the judges. Another time, he lost because a few other students had been competing for years, and Vien felt David’s education could wait for these other mediocre painters. In protest, he attempted to starve himself to death. Finally, in 1774, David won the Prix de Rome,† (Jacques-Louis David. org). David later on ended up in Italy. He was very inspired by the work. â€Å"David filled twelve sketchbooks with material that he would derive from for the rest of his life,† (Jacques-Louis David. org). In 1780, David completed the work Belisarius Asking Alms, which he also exhibited in Paris. He used a very unique approach to this piece. â€Å"In which he combined a nobly sentimental approach to antiquity with a pictorial technique reminiscent of Poussin,† (Britannia Encyclopedia). This piece you can tell is what started it all. You can see that David was very into the classical period. This is a very good piece for an artist just starting his career. To me it looks realistic, but you can still tell it was idealistic. I really liked the use of color in this piece. The focus though does not just seem to be on one person, but one all three characters portrayed in the piece. It really fits in the period. I chose this piece because it was one of David’s first pieces that kick started his career into art. It was the very first piece he exhibited. Another piece that helped his career is Oath of the Horatii. He produced this in 1784. This was one of the pieces in the Neoclassicism period. This piece had to do with a social contract. â€Å"The artist references Enlightenment values while alluding to Rousseau’s social contract,† (Wikipedia). They are showing the oath as a act of being one, they are coming together. â€Å"The Oath between the characters can be read as an act of unification of men to the binding of the state,† (Wikipedia). It also shows gender issue clearly between the women and the men. The issue of gender roles also becomes apparent in this piece, as the women in Horatii greatly contrast the group of brothers. David depicts the father with his back to the women, shutting them out of the oath making ritual; they also appear to be smaller in scale than the male figures,† (Wikipedia). This piece was really good. It really caught my eye when we studied it in class. I chose this piece because I wanted represent a piece of David’s from the Neoclassicism period. This was one of his best. It marks the middle of his time. One last piece of David’s is Mars Being Disarmed by Venus and the Three Graces. This was the very last piece of work he created before he died. It was known to be his â€Å"great last work†. He worked on this from 1822 to 1824. In 1823 he had said, â€Å"This is the last picture I want to paint, but I want to surpass myself in it. I will put the date of my seventy-five years on it and afterwards I will never again pick up my brush,† (Wikipedia). He exhibited this in Brussels, where about 10, 000 people came to view this piece. I chose this piece because I wanted show the ending of this story. This story is the story of David. He had actually stopped on his own will. This is the piece that represented he ended with a bang. He had been painting for seventy-five years now. I really liked how he showed the end of a battle. It symbolizes the end of his career. There are many great artists in our world, many from a long time ago. There has been so much artistic work that has impacted us in many ways. We can only rely on artwork to tell us about these artists that no longer exist. Jacques Louis David was a very famous painter from the many periods. He had seventy-five years of work. His impact has still remained. Artists will still remain.