Isolation: Oath of the Horatii
7:00 AMIsolation
Solitude and Painting
Curated by Tommy Dunn
 |
| Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784 |
In addition to fitting my theme, Oath of the Horatii might be the coolest painting I ever laid eyes on. I remember first seeing it on the cover of a book about ancient Rome in my preteen years. I failed to grasp its significance. I saw it next in the Louvre on a trip to Paris before freshman year. Even then, I did not see what made it such a great painting; it was significant only in that it was one of the few paintings in that museum not named the Mona Lisa that I could recognize. It was only this year, in art history, that I managed to figure out why this painting stuck with me so doggedly. I really do love this painting. Every theme I thought of managed to include a spot for this painting within its ranks. Part of my love for it is the history, certainly. The context of the painting gives it new meaning; David painted this call to arms to defend the ancient Roman republic as a direct analogy to a call to arms to defend the newly created French Republic. However, every time I look at this painting I feel as though I get something new about it.
Today I'm going to talk about a different type of isolation. This type of isolation is not really related to loneliness, but rather fear and sacrifice. These young men are taking an oath to defend their republic in solo combat. The way that this isolates them can be seen in the looks on their faces and on those of the women crying in the background. They are sublimated by their willingness to sacrifice. They epitomize everything the republic is about, and yet they stand separate from it as they defend it.
0 comments