Delacroix and Fortuny: Artistic Influences and Masterpieces
Delacroix: Stylistic Analysis and Interpretation
Stylistic Analysis
Delacroix, influenced by Michelangelo, exhibits several characteristics in his works:
- Triangular Composition
- Terribilitá: The depiction of characters consumed by unstoppable passion.
He was also influenced by:
- Giorgione: In the use of colors, particularly reds and ochres.
- Titian (Tiziano Vecellio): Also in the use of ochre and red colors.
- Géricault: In the composition of his works.
- Rubens: In the portrayal of troubled characters and dynamic movements, reflecting vitality.
- Goya: Overall, including brushwork and color.
Interpretation, Meaning, and Function
The artwork personifies revolutionary ideals: equality, freedom, and fraternity. Freedom is represented allegorically as a personification of the value. Equality is depicted through the bourgeois and artisans fighting for it. Fraternity is shown by everyone involved in the revolution.
The scene is set in Paris, identifiable by the two towers of Notre Dame.
Political Context
Along with Goya’s works, Delacroix’s pieces are deeply political, presenting citizens as political entities. They invite reflection from the viewer, not as mere propaganda, but as a means to avoid manipulation and encourage informed conviction. The artwork was purchased by Louis Philippe of Orleans but was kept from public view due to its anti-royalist themes. It is considered a commemorative piece.
Mariano Fortuny’s The Vicarage
General Documentation
- Author: Mariano Fortuny
- Timeline: 1867-70
- Size: 40×94 cm (Relatively small, unlike French Realism)
- Style: Catalan Realism
- Technique: Oil on panel
- Subject: Red tape in a vicar’s office
- Location: Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC), Barcelona
Stylistic Analysis
Technique and Material: Oil on panel. The painting features areas of thicker and more diluted paint, with a smoother finish compared to canvas. The smaller format, in contrast to French Realism, enhanced its marketability. Fortuny was one of the most sought-after artists of his time.
Colors: The painting boasts rich, vivid colors, meticulously applied with great detail (preciousness), enhanced by the small size. Golden hues are prominent. The reddish soil and a large yellow carpet, along with the white in the dress, create a varied and vibrant palette.
Lighting: The light source is generally unseen, assumed to be from the left, judging by the shadows.
Composition:
- Three levels are present: the brazier, the characters arranged in a horizontal frieze (except for the bullfighters), and the dimly lit vicarage offices behind the gate.
- The oblique perspective shows a wall of unknown size, read lengthwise.
- Horizontal elements include the bars and the frieze of characters. Vertical elements include the people, the gate’s bars, and the lampposts.
Stylistic Influences and Distinctions
- Differences between Catalan and French Realism: Catalan Realism lacks social criticism. While different social classes are depicted, there is no questioning of oppression. It is more aligned with bourgeois taste, emphasizing aesthetic appeal and color.
- Influence of Impressionism:
- Fortuny employs traditional chiaroscuro, unlike French Impressionism, which uses contrasting colors.
- He was influenced by Impressionism in his use of color and light.
Fortuny’s time in Morocco (1859), where he discovered the light and preciousness that would inform his masterpiece, The Battle of Tetuan, greatly influenced this work.
Picturesqueness: Fortuny was heavily influenced by Goya’s interest in everyday subjects.
Fortuny’s style was highly renowned during his time. He was the highest-paid artist of his era. He purchased a Renaissance palace in Venice and lived in Rome, where his works were often counterfeited and sold.