preview

French Revolution Research Paper

Decent Essays

The French Revolution’s Influence on Art
The French Revolution (1789 – 1799) was a decade of the transformation of a whole society, which includes the arts in this society. In this essay, we will see what impact the French Revolution had on the arts.

“The French Revolution was flanked by two artistic styles, Rococo and Neoclassicism” (Oxford, n.d.)

Rococo
Rococo was an exuberantly decorative European style which had its origins in the French Royal Court. King Louis XV of France decreed in around 1710 that the arts should be softer, lighter and playful. He wanted to encourage artists to move away from the geometrical designs so much supported by his predecessor, King Louis XIV.

The artists responded and created not only playful scenes on …show more content…

They created erotic mythological and genre scenes. Jean-Siméon Chardin also contributed during the Rococo age, but with more morally instructive works.

Neoclassicism
“Leading up to and following the French Revolution, Neoclassicism was the predominant artistic style in France (and in Europe and the USA from about 1750 to 1830)” (Oxford n.d.). While the aristocracy in France indulged in frivolous lifestyles which were expressed in the Rococo art style, the commoners reacted to that by supporting the Neoclassic art style.

They looked and Nicolas Poussin for inspiration and “believed that art should be cerebral, not sensual” (Kahn, n.d.). They despised the immorality of the Royal Court and the upper classes and wanted to restore to France a more serious and rational lifestyle. This is evident in the work of Jacques-Louis David when he created the Oath of the Horatii.

david-oath_of_horatii.jpg

Political emotions were running high, and the Oath of the Horatii added fuel to the fire. The people wanted a Republic without the monarchy’s wastefulness. Nationalism was stirred and the French were ready to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of capturing control from the monarchy and ruling

Get Access