Neoclassical Masterpieces: Eros and Psyche and Oath of the Horatii
Eros and Psyche
Antonio Canova
Late 18th Century
Name: Eros and Psyche
Author: Antonio Canova
Clients: Lord Cawdor
Date: Late 18th Century
Type of work: Exempt Sculpture
Style: Italian Neoclassicism
Original Location: Lord Cawdor’s Town Hall
Current Location: Louvre Museum, Paris
Related to a whole: Canova made another sculpture of Eros and Psyche, but standing.
Material: Marble
Dimensions: 1.55 m x 1.68 m
Tones: Monochrome
Technique: Carving
Position: Diagonal (recumbent woman, standing man)
Figurative: Yes
Brief Description: Psyche was a girl of extraordinary beauty who Eros, the mythological personification of love, fell in love with.
Formal Analysis
Volume: Open, although a portion of the sculpture is closed.
Proportions: Real, but with unbalanced positions and tension.
Anatomy: Two young figures, very sensual and pale, creating a scene of great eroticism.
Light: Internal, clear. Slides across the sculpture and produces a sweet and smooth shading.
Movement: Implied (boy – unstable)
Time: Short
Composition Axis: Symmetry, order, forming an interlocking diagonal position defined by the wings of Eros and arms.
Expression: Lack of expression on the faces but present in gestures (love).
Clothing: Naked, not exaggerating much to show their anatomy.
Point of Support: The sculpture itself is based on the pedestal.
Viewer: Has multiple points of view, but the main one is frontal.
Contextual Analysis
Relation to other works by this author: Mary Pauline Bonaparte (marble sculpture), Hercules and Lica (very similar position and also a mythological scene).
Relation with other works of the era and style: Eros and Psyche by David and Diana the Huntress by Houdon.
Characteristic features: Neoclassicism.
Innovations: Canova begins to move away from the Academy with romance and very polished sculptures.
Influences: Classical light and sweet and serene expressions of the figures, Bernini (capturing the moment), and also Phidias.
Content Analysis
Theme: Mythological
Iconographic Sign: Canova depicts the climax of the myth of Eros and Psyche as recounted by Apuleius in The Golden Ass. Psyche was the daughter of a king of Asia and was very beautiful but also very capricious. Eros, the god of love, fell in love with her and to conquer her, he built a palace for her. She was frightened and threw wax on Eros’ face, then he runs away and she tries to commit suicide.
Iconological Sign: Eros and Psyche symbolize both love and carnal passion, seeking to provide a universal message of love.
Function and Purpose
Purpose: Aesthetic
Relation of work with the time: Turn of the century, when other changes arise in politics and clientele (bourgeoisie) and the ideological shift. The art is a neoclassical style, elitist because it does not reach the people.
The Oath of the Horatii
Jacques-Louis David
Late 18th Century
Name: The Oath of the Horatii
Author: Jacques-Louis David
Clients: Louis XVI
Date: End of the 18th Century
Style: Neoclassicism
Original Location: Hall of the Palace of Louis XVI
Current Location: Louvre Museum, Paris
Related to a set: Other works were present in the king’s living space.
Medium: Oil
Size: Large
Support: Cloth
Figurative: Yes
Brief Description: Three brothers swear their loyalty to their homeland in front of their father. In one corner, women are grieving for what will happen.
Formal Analysis
Drawing: Present
Color: Chromaticism is subordinated to the drawing; the line has a greater role.
Colors: Bright and clear, dominated by shades of red (passion), gray, and ochre.
Light: Unreal, theatrical, entering the canvas from the left and projecting shadows of the characters.
Brushwork: Fine and short, with grid-like movements.
Composition Axis: Symmetry, order, and horizontal.
Compositional Lines: Geometric shapes; the young men and father form a rectangle, the legs of the brothers, the father, the child, and the women form four triangles.
Pictorial Center: The center is represented by the swords and arms of the brothers, which are the central theme.
Vista: Linear, created by the arrangement of lines.
Planes: 1st plane: the three brothers and father; 2nd plane: the women.
Anatomy and Proportions: Well-proportioned with realistic anatomy.
Clothing: Typical Roman clothing, with robes and sandals.
Expression: The men have an expression of great grief, while the women are solemn and energetic.
Movement: Balanced, with the sisters and women static.
Time: Medium
Rhythm: Back to the columns.
Realism and Sensationalism: The audience is excited.
Child Elements: Few
Contextual Analysis
Relation to author’s other works: The Rape of the Sabine Women and Death of Socrates.
Relation with other works of the era and style: Bonaparte at Arcola by Gros (subjects of the French Revolution) and Odalisque by Ingres (same style).
Characteristic features: Neoclassicism.
Influences: Caravaggio (light treatment), admiration for Poussin and Raphael.
Content Analysis
Genre: Historical (ancient Rome)
Iconography: In the 6th century BC, Rome and Alba Longa were disputing the domain of central Italy. To decide which city would be the winner, three brothers from each side fought, of which only one survived, one of the Horatii. The painting chooses the moment they swear allegiance to their homeland.
Iconological Sign: The work is based on the story told in Ab Urbe Condita by Titus Livius. The main symbol is the red tunic of the father (passion).
Function and Purpose
Purpose: Illustrative and propaganda.
/ Rel Work with time: The work will be a few years before the rev. French bourgeois imagination and expresses disagreement against the corruption of the French Court and the Government / Contributions: prepares the way of romance (historical and patriotic themes.)