The French Revolution

The French Revolution Art was a powerful form of political propaganda in the French Revolution. Early in the revolution, it spoke in support of the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity; as the revolution spread across Europe, it also spoke against the abuses of the Napoleonic regimes. Background Information The French Revolution was a natural outgrowth of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. What characterized these movements was the belief that the universe was a rational, and mathematically ordered place, whose inner workings were accessible to the human mind. Newton's Principia Mathematica demonstrated the principle of gravitation and the laws of mation, and further argued that the entire universe was united in its adherance to these basic laws of nature. Alexander Pop wrote that "Nature and nature's laws lay hidden in the night, and God said 'let Newton be' and all was light." Many believed that Newton's mathematical brilliance had allowed humans to see into the very mind of God.

In the eighteenth century, the philosophes of the Enlightenment applied Newtonian mechanics to political philosophy. Newton described the mathematical laws of the universe; the philosophes described the laws of nature as they applied to human living in communities. John Locke's Second Treatise on Government discussed the natural, inalienable rights of men: the right of life, liberty, and property; Thomas Jefferson argued the same position in the Declaration of Independence when he stated that all men are created equal, and have the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The French reiterated these points in their Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, where again it was argued that men are born equal and have the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and freedom from oppression. These ideals ignited revolution in France, a country ruled by an absolute monarchy for centuries. In France under Louis XIV, there was no liberty, no representation, no freedom of speech, and no rights to due process. People were often picked up off the street for speaking against the monarchy, and detained for months or years in the Bastille in Paris. Louis XIV controlled the Parliaments, the courts, and every aspect of France. Peasants suffered from a shortage of bread, France was in such debt that fully 1/2 of its revenue went to pay just the interest on its debt, and those who could most afford to help France in its hour of need, the nobles, refused to pay even the taxes they were required to pay.

The ideas of Locke, Jefferson, and other thinkers of the Enlightenment inspired the French to seek a more representative form of government, and so began the French Revolution in 1789.

The revolution began on an idealistic note with the convening of the Estates General, and disappointed many in its early days for its failure to fully implement the ideals of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Citizens were distinguished from one another on the basis of property: there were active citizens and passive citizens, and women were lost in the shuffle. Early idealists such as Marat were disappointed in the intial reforms, and remarked when the constitution was created in the wake of the Declaration that "the worst has happened." France had not achieved the radical democracy Marat and others, such as Robespierre, had wanted. In 1793-1794, France was under attack from many at home who believed the revolution had actually gone too far, rather than not far enough. European monarchies, threatened by the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity, were at war with the French. Robespierre instituted a "reign of terror" in which all suspected of being counter-revolutionaries were sent to the guillotine. After the reign of terror, there was a conservative reaction, the Thermidorian Reaction. Many wanted a restoral of the Bourbon monarchy. Early revolutionaries, such as the Abbe Sieyes, called for the restoral of order from above. In the midst of such chaos, Napoleon Bonaparte began his rise to power.

Revolutionary Art Napoleon became wildly popular as a supporter of revolutionary ideals. He was regarded as one who could carry the banner of the revolution throughout Europe, liberating those under absolutism. He led a campaigns in Africa, and became a hero when he defeated the enemies of the revolution at Austerlitz. In the art of Jacques Louis David, we can see Napoleon portrayed as the hero of the revolution. In his portrait of the youthful Napoleon is portrayed as ruggedly handsome,. He looks slightly upward, a symbol of his quest for truth and for liberty. Gros's painting of Napoleon is also very idealistic with windswept hair. In early portraits he is never portrayed as static; everything is in motion. Napoleon's arm is upraised, symbolizing his quest for Truth and for Liberty.

David's Napoleon at St. Bernard (Napoleon on a Horse) is another famous image of Napoleon as revolutionary hero. Napoleon sits majestically on a horse reared up, and points upwards toward heaven. The image is not a static one; the horse is reared up, Napoleon's clothing is being blown by the wind but is also pointing upwards, and his hore is posed on the brink of a chasm. So too Europe was on the brink: it was threatened by a war of the absolutist monarchs against the French, who were in search of liberty.

Although Napoleon and the French were besieged by enemies, they nevertheless came out victorious. This painting is a powerful image of Napoleon as crusading hero. Beethoven's Third Symphony, the Erioca, also captures the heroic spirit. The form is explosive; this was one of the longest, most complex, and expansive symphonies written to date. The development is extraordinarily complex and long; the coda is equally long. The expansive nature of the symphony symbolizes the expansion of the revolutionary ideals. The symphony was dedicated to Napoleon, whose early career Beethoven admired. It captures the heroic spirit in humanity, as well as the heroic spirit of Beethoven himself, who was going deaf at this point in his life. When Beethoven later learned that Napoleon had crowned himself emperor, he tore up the dedication page. The early triumph of revolutionary ideals against the autocratic monarchies is symbolized by Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People. Here Liberty marches triumphant over the bodies of those who opposed her progress, and she carries the banner of the French Revolution. The banner is pointing upwards to heaven, and is blowing in the wind. The image is of liberty triumphant. Art also symbolized the tragic side of the revolution. During 1793-1794, Robespierre's Reign of Terror fought to preserve his ideal of the Republic of Virtue. In his zeal to preserve libery, Robespierre sacrificed the liberties of those whom he thought opposed the revolution. David's painting of the Death of Marat portrayed the radical revolutiuonary Marat after he had been assassinated in his bathtub by Charlotte Corday. Marat had advocated radical democracy, and was then fighting against counterrevolutionaries by supporting the activities of Robespierre's Committee on Public Safety. Thousands were sent to the guillotine on very slim or non-existent evidence. Marat was assasinated by the sister of a victim of the Terror. David portrays Marat's assassination as a tragedy, and the figure is depicted in the same manner as earlier artists portrayed religious subjects. The table in the foreground is reminiscent of a tombstone marker. It is stark, without anything else in the scene. Marat is draped in what looks very much like a shroud and has a turban. He is almost reminiscent of the Christ having been wrapped for burial. With him, David suggests, the pure ideals of the revolution have also died. In his Death of Socrates, Marat also points to the ideal of liberty and the quest for Truth, and suggests again that one must be ever vigilant, as liberty can be lost. Socrates symbolizes the rational mind, and all that was good about ancient Greece. He was given the choice between drinking hemlock or ceasing to teach his philosophy, which criticized traditional religious beliefs. He chose to drink hemlock. Twelve disciples surround him, the same number of disciples as Christ had, who was also persecuted for speaking the Truth. Socrates symbolizes the search for freedom and intellectual liberty, and the threat that that liberty will be taken away by a repressive state. Although Napoleon was seen as an early champion of the revolution, in 1804 he declared himself emperor of France. David's portaits of Napoleon as emperor show a much

different Napoleon, one no longer in motion, standing rigidly with his hand in his shirt in an imperial pose. David's painting of the coronation of Napoleon similarly shows a Napoleon who is no longer the champion of liberty, but the personification of tyrrany. He is dressed in lavish regalia, and wears a laruel leaf crown, associated with Roman emperors not known for their democratic rule. Napoleon had taken the crown from the pope's hands to place on his own head, and is here getting ready to place the crown on Josephine's head. Gone is the crusading hero of the 1790's and here again is another monarch. Napoleon enacted the Napoleonic Codes throughout Europe, which favored the fathers of families, employers over workers, and forbade trade with Britain. The Codes were seen as repressive, and he also instituted several of his own relatives as rulers of countries conquered in the name of the revolution. Although David was himself a supporter of Napoleon, elements of this painting depict aspects of Napoleon that his enemies came to hate. Click here for a detail of the painting. Goya's The Third of May, 1808 depicts the horors of war and the corruption of the early ideals of the French. The victim is covered in light, a symbol of Truth, Widsom, and purity. He has a face, as do those around him. On the other hand, the rest of the scene is in darkness. The French are dehumanized; only their backs are visible, and they have no faces. Here, the French are seen as torturers, abusers who have usurped the liberty of the Spanish people. Napoleon was ultimately defeated at Waterloo in 1814 and exiled to St. Helena. He died of stomach cancer in 1821 and in disgrace. Later in the nineteenth century, as revolutionary activity continued to unfold in the revolutuons of 1848 and beyond, Napoleon was re-evaluated by the French and his body was brought back to Paris. It was entombed in the military academy. The tomb is red porphyry, and a magnificent structure. You look down at Napoleon's tomb from a point high above, and it is surrounded by statues, many of which are the personifications of the ideals of liberty, fraternity, and equality. It is a powerful example of art as propaganda, and the last statement on Napoleon.