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My
three chosen pieces are Massacre of the Unfortunate French King (1793), Louis
XVI in Sacred Costume (1779), and Marie Antoinette Being Taken to her execution
(1793). These three art pieces constructed by various artists highlights
the French Revolution. Louis XVI in Sacred Costume creates a contrast
between the king’s adornments and the background with soft textures and
circular shapes. The softness this painting represents can elicit a proud
feeling, as if to serve as propaganda during the upcoming times of the French
Revolution. Both paintings depicting the execution of the King and Marie Antoinette
create a contrast that highlights the monarchy being executed against the
populace. The white gowns contrast against the dark backgrounds that can help
to suggest a sense of rebirth that was going to arise from beheading the
monarchy. Both execution art pieces emphasize a facial expression that appear
to lack empathy. Furthermore, a picture of the King in adornments versus
execution highlights the differences in priorities that the heart of the French
Revolution was striving for.
There
is no argument that can deny that death by guillotine is a brutal means to an
end. However, execution is depicted (through tone, contrast, color), the
brutality is defined the mechanism itself. Paris Musees states, “Pro-revolutionary
depictures of Louis’ execution were, if anything, more gruesome than
anti-revolutionary ones. Only the rhetoric of the captions distinguished them”.
The only way propaganda can be distinguished through paintings is by
understanding the context of the captions that were passed along with the artwork.
Cartoons such as The Massacre of the Unfortunate King suggests there was
much to be celebrated about the brutal end to French monarchy. Of course, in
our point in history we understand the French Revolution and future revolutions
went well beyond the execution dates. The
king’s execution in contrast to his sacred costume are the difference between
the inspiration of the French Revolution and the beginning of the French
Revolution. Ja-Ae Kim dictates, “France had a great influence in costumes of
Europe as they represented European culture in the early 18th century”. Louis
XVI in Sacred Costume represents the French Monarchy and the means they
were willing to impress the rich and other royals. These paintings were made for
royals and commissioned by royals. The attitude behind the inspiration of the
French Revolution is found at the heart of the painting’s creation.
Lastly,
Marie Antoinette being Taken to her Execution shows the woman married to
the “unfortunate French King” walking to be beheaded. Marie Antoinette was one
of the royal’s executions that marked the beginning of the French Revolution.
Marie Antoinette was rumored to have stated, “let them [the peasants] eat cake”
without official record or proof to support this claim. The mentality that the
rich and royal blood were better than the peasants was common amongst most monarchies
of this time. The wage game and quality of life between the working class (the
peasants) and the royals were wide enough to create mass hunger that eventually
erected the French Revolution.
In conclusion,
both execution artworks display a strong sense of security that can be found in
the rebirth of a country that it is not structured around a monarchy. You can
sense a feeling of proudness and relief as many French citizens felt it was
necessary to meet their goals at this time. I would not own these paintings,
but I would visit them in a museum display. King Louis’ sacred costume helps to
showcase the ignorance behind the royal family’s consideration for the working
class. I would not own this piece as well as this is not a painting, I would be
proud of. However, I can appreciate the well-structured art that creates
colorful contrast between the adornments and the background. When discussing
the French Revolution, it is important to discuss what inspired the event and
what helped to create the event.
References
Google Arts. “Louis XVI in Sacred Costume.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/louis-xvi-in-sacred-costume-antoine-fran%C3%A7ois- callet/8QH8TKMDlNfQMA.
Kim, Ju-Ae. “The Symbolic Meanings of Louis XVI’s
Costumes in the Portraits.” Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and
Textiles, vol. 35, no. 12, The Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles, 31 Dec.
2011, pp. 1409–1417. Crossref, doi:10.5850/jksct.2011.35.12.1409.
Paris Musees. “'A Slight Freshness on the Neck’: Prints Depicting the Execution of Louis XVI (Ca. 1793).” The Public Domain Review, Bibliothèque Nationale De France, https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/execution-by-guillotine-of-louis-xvi.
Wikipedia. Marie Antoinette Being Taken to Her Execution, 1794. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marie_Antoinette_being_taken_to_her_Execution,_1794.jpg.
Hi Mariah! I liked your choices for art and the French Revolution. I chose to follow the same theme for my three works of art and really enjoyed learning about a lot of the historical events that influenced a lot of the art work themes during the late 18th century. I especially loved the one of King Louis XVI. The blue draping as the background and the pillar behind him are a really nice contrast to his white and brown outfit. It’s a beautiful piece that would be lovely with the Marie Antoinette with the Rose painting done by Élisabeth Louise Vigée le Brun. Callet really did a wonderful job in the lighting. You can see the different hues of the blue that are used to create shadows and can see in the background how she’s used this to really show how natural light is being displayed upon the king. Although, I don’t know in full detail as to why both were executed, I did read that although his wife was not liked at all, she still seemed to go about her execution with dignity and didn’t try to run away. One seemed to be too stuck in the old ways to give up his power, while the other seemed to be stuck in the crossfire and a scapegoat for people to hate. It has been said that her excessive spending was exaggerated greatly and her lack of experience within politics might have made her an easy target for people to blame. I never really knew about the French Revolution, but this is one of my favorite things that I’ve really enjoyed within this course in being able to really learn about historical events as well. There is so much more to art history and styles that I had absolutely no clue about until now.
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