After a deep discussion of Jacques-Louis David’s (that’s Dav-EED, the French way) Oath of the Horatii in my 19th century art class, I am absolutely convinced that this might be the most perfect painting ever painted. OK, maybe that’s a little bit of an exagerration… Or is it? My list of reasons why it’s perfect, below.
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| Jacques-Louis David, The Oath of the Horatii, 1784 |
The Three Reasons Why Oath of the Horatii is Perfect
1. The composition. At first, it seems simple. Deceptively simple. It illustrates the story, certainly — of three youths swearing their allegiance to Rome, their city, with the blessing of their father, about to go off to war against the three sons of another family. To the side, the women and children of the family mourn the family sons’ departure, foreshadowing the deaths about to take place.What seems to be plainly laid out is actually painstakingly so. Set against a dark, muted classical background, the painting is divided into three distinct parts, each aspect clearly delineated by the background curves of an archway. From left, there is the trio of young men, leaving for war; in the center, the father acts as a bridge between the outside world and the world of the family, which is represented by the women in the right side of the painting, whose undulating curves form a melancholic collection of curves that act as a stopper for the composition. David’s placement of figures and forms in the canvas act as a way to tell the story of this history painting clearly, but also offer more subtle hints to the educated viewer, who knows what is to happen next.
2. The contrasts. The Oath is a study in contrasts: male and female, young and old, sheer will and sheer sadness. In the shapes of the figures of the men and women, the difference is clear: the men are straight, in shapes of solid triangles, wheras the mass of women to the right is more fluid and oval, curving arabesques of shape that show the contrast of their melancholic worry to blind, noble determination of the men.Within the stances of the men are the visible signs of how they differ in age and emotion. The three youths are stoic and firm, built of strong muscle and straight diagonals, making up a triangle of determined confidence. Meanwhile, though he is equally as overcome with emotion, their father’s knees buckle slightly; he leans backward in a slight curve; his feet are not on parallel ground — he is, in other words, older.
3. The details. My favorite part of the Oath, though, are its details. There are two that are my favorite, that bring even more to the story of the painting. First, look closely at the three sons and their swords:
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| Jacques-Louis David, The Oath of the Horatii – Detail, 1784 |
The end of the story is that the sons triumph over the rivaling family. But at one expense: the death of one of the sons of the rivaling family. This is particularly a bummer for the women of the Horatii family, because one of the sisters of these three brothers (who is pictured at the right of David’s painting) was betrothed to them. After they return victorious, the “widowed” sister curses Rome, distraught over the death of her beloved. So enraged by the curse of his country, one of the sons murders her in cold blood. (After this act, their father makes a speech defending this son’s honor. Oh, men, and ancient Rome…)
Anyway, can you guess from the detail above which son commits this atrocious deed? Well, if you’re looking closely, you’ll notice that one of them is enshrouded in shadow, his gaze downcast, dark, and fiercely determined. Not only this, but two more details related to this kinda evil son: his hand, which reaches above those of his brothers to the highest point. To me, I get the sense he’s ambitious to the point of obnixiousness — pushy and ruthless. And finally, check out the swords their Daddy Horatii holds: Two are bone straight, reflecting the noble honor of the sons — and one is slightly curved, pointing almost maliciously. Bet you can’t guess to which brother I suspect that curvy one belongs?
The last detail is one that was pointed out to me by my professor, a detail whose poignancy simply breaks my heart:
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| Jacques-Louis David, The Oath of the Horatii – Detail, 1784 |
In the figure grouping of the nurse and the two children, we see her enshrouding them protectively with the symbolic coat of night as she mourns, hiding their faces. But one of the children, the eldest boy, pushes her hand away from his eyes as she tries to shield, to protect him from the sight of this dangerous war — his huge black eyes are transfixed by the scene before him, utterly engrossed in the Oath that’s taking place, already swept up in the blind honor, the grandiose scene happening before him, as if he’s ready himself to take an Oath, leaving behind the world of women. David even places this figure group at the very edge of the third division of the painting, along the column that separates the women from the “bridge” of the father into the dangerous realm of the nobility, and danger, of war.
[...] been reading this blog for a while, you know this is one of my favorite paintings. Check out what I wrote about it last year. You can only imagine how much I freaked out when walking through this [...]