Theme: Paintings of Cloth-less Male by romanticism artists
This is one of the early neoclassical works by Jacques-Louis David. The painting of Petroclus was created in the year 1780. It is now displayed in the Musee Thomas Henry in Cherbourg, France.
PATROCLUS Oil on Canvas –byJacques-Louis David.
The Art: The painting of a man without clothes is the symbol of robust power the male figure contains. The painter David has taken much care to radiate the stock of strength from a well-built body. He had used light and shades of vibrant colours. Putting of the un-detailed and rough rocks in background of the sturdy and muscular male figure gives us the feel of strength and power.
David had deviated considerably from his early style of neoclassicism. He would use the colours and the effects of light in Venetian style. The portraits done by him were superb in lines and designs. We could have a feel of seeing a painting done in realistic style, while we see his portraits shown as above. However his paintings were pioneer of the movement that would be called romanticism in the coming years.(Images Courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
The Artist: If we prepare a list of the painters attached with Neoclassicism movement, the name of David, Jacques-Louis David, would come on top. He is believed to be the true founder of French Neoclassicism movement of the art of painting. His pictorial representations possessed the features of sculptures; and his colours on the paintings were smooth looking. David had learnt some aspects of the art of paintings from the master painters like Boucher and Vien. Before he switched over his style of painting to his own, he was influenced by the work of his teachers. His works had become more sensual afterwards.
OTHER ROMANTICISM PAINTINGS
The artists like François-Édouard Picot (1786-1868) would not only look at the methods of paintings, they would try painting emotions through the brushes loaded with their artistic prowess. The painting L'Amour et Psyché by François-Édouard Picot (1817) is one of the most famous paintings.
The play of boundless emotion would be the base, a romantic artist would consider as primary goal.
The Wave:
For Bouguereau the art of painting was an allegory. He had painted the movements of female body extremely beautiful. In many of his paintings, we can see the hips of a cloth-less woman swinging.
Here in this bare-body painting, The Wave, the charm and physical beauty of the woman competes with the strength of roaring waves of seawater. This painting The Wave is perhaps one of the most beautiful paintings done in the photo realistic style of painting.Bouguereau was pupil of Jacques-Louis David.
