Classical Analysis

 

                                                                (The Embarkation for Cythera, by Jean-Antoine Watteau, 1717, Berlin)

    The Embarkation for Cythera is a famous piece of fête galante artistry. It sits at the end of the Baroque era of painting, where artists began to dismiss some of their restrictions and dip into the rococo style. This piece favors color greatly over the strong lines of the Baroque, giving an entirely different tone to the otherwise similar style of landscape painting. The Embarkation for Cythera depicts a romantic gathering with several different couples, with many dancing. They are flanked by a statue of Venus, the roman goddess of love, and a smattering of Cherubs. Importantly, the painting was received as frivolous, and was part of the push-back argument against immoral artistry in the late Baroque/Classical era.

    Aesthetically, I find myself unable to follow this piece without the use of a zooming tool, simply because of how blended each part of the painting is. I cannot really distinguish between the background denizens, all packed into such a confined portion of the painting.

                      (Cornelia, Mother to the Gracchi, Pointing to Her Children as Her Treasures, by Angelica Kauffman, 1785)

    Here we have an example of the aforementioned moral pushback. Cornelia, Mother to the Gracchi, Pointing to Her Children as Her Treasures is a neoclassical piece that depicts Cornelia, the daughter of a prominent Roman general, as well as her children and another woman. The painting regains some of the prominent lines of the Baroque paintings, but loses the dark shadows of Tenebrism. The resulting painting, yellow sunset included, paints a typical Neoclassical picture. The so-called frivolity, as well as most of the emotion of Rococo, has been vanquished.

    I find this piece to be easy to understand, especially with the help of the title. The only problem is that I'm left asking myself, "what's the point?" I feel as though there isn't any story behind a painting such as this, compared even to its contemporaries in the Neoclassical.

                                                                                      (The Swing, by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, 1767-8)
    It is hard to make a statement on the morality of Classical (and more specifically Rococo) art without The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard making an appearance. Depicted here is a girl who has contrived to give her lover a timely glance while she goes back and forth on a garden swing. The main opposition to this piece, which was known to be Fragonard's most famous, was that it showed humanity at its most indecent. There are strong Baroque elements, including the diagonal line drawn between the lover in the bush and the second rope of the swing, and the dark shadows in the corners. However, the bright pink centerpiece and sprawling greenery firmly places this into the Rococo style.

    Aesthetically, it is incredibly well-executed and deserving of the spotlight it has received. However, I almost agree with the moral argument proposed against this one, if only because it so drastically turns from the relation between era and topic that I'm used to associating with the Classical era. 

    In conclusion, the argument between what was considered moral and immoral in the classical era was mostly one of intent. As anyone familiar with what is encompassed in the Classical era is aware of, nudity was not off the table. However, to portray humanity as less than moral beacons in this era was apparently too much for the sensibilities of some. It would be interesting to see how the moral standards of Classical era artwork compares to the moral standards artists are held to today, with such an expansion in artistic variety.

References

Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris. "A beginner’s guide to Rococo art." in Smarthistory, 7 Jan. 2016, https://smarthistory.org/a-beginners-guide-to-rococo-art/, accessed 12 Mar. 2024

Jaramillo, Carina. "Art And Music In The Age Of Enlightenment." TheaterSeatStore, 5 Sept. 2023, https://www.theaterseatstore.com/blog/art-music-enlightenment, accessed 12 Mar. 2024