-
Period: to
Age of Absolutism
A somewhat arbitrary historiographical demarcation; I have chosen the lifespan of the greatest absolutist monarch, Louis XIV. -
Diego Velázquez's "Las Meninas"
(Diego Velázquez, "Las Meninas", oil on canvas, Museo del Prado, 1656.)
This is Diego Velázquez's massive depiction of the court of Spanish king Philip IV. Though "Las Meninas" is often hailed as one of the greatest paintings of all time for the complexity of its composition and its ambiguity of perspective, it is also a historic indictment of the absolutist king and queen, who are absent from the frame except in a background reflection. Velázquez also derides the monarchs' frivolous opulence. -
Period: to
The Enlightenment
Another period whose exact lifespan is difficult to determine, though its effects were mostly strongly felt in the 18th century. -
Hyacinthe Rigaud's Portrait of Louis XIV
(Hyacinthe Rigaud, "Modello for the Portrait of Louis XIV in Royal Ceremonial Robes", oil on canvas, MMFA, 1701.)
This commissioned portrait by Rigaud is the most famous depiction of Louis XIV. By emphasizing his impressive stature, lavish clothing, and strength, Rigaud underscored the absolute power of Louis XIV. The "Sun King" patronized artists like Rigaud to encourage the production of monumentalist works of art and architecture, like this one. Louis's legitimacy facilitated his long reign. -
William Hogarth's "The Marriage Settlement" (Part of the "Marriage A-la-Mode" series)
(William Hogarth, "The Marriage Settlement", oil on canvas, UK National Gallery, 1745).
Hogarth's "Marriage A-la-Mode", a series of paintings converted into and sold as engravings, highlight the immorality of the English aristocracy. Hogarth's many caricatures of clergy and nobility helped entrench an English Enlightenment spirit that came to value hard work over impressive lineage. Though this piece was not commercially successful, it became among the masses one of his most popular works. -
Jacques-Louis David's "Oath of the Horatii"
(Jacques-Louis David, "Oath of the Horatii", oil on canvas, the Louvre, 1784)
This royally-commissioned, massive David painting recreates a scene from a Roman legend, where the Horatii brothers pledge to fight for Rome. By departing from his commission, David created a work that glorifies patriotic sacrifice for the state (not the king) and adopts the neoclassical style of the late Enlightenment. Diderot loved the painting, and David eventually become the French Revolution's signature painter. -
Period: to
Age of Revolutions
Another useful historiographical creation lasting in Europe from the onset of the French Revolution to the failed revolutions of 1848. -
Eugène Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People"
Eugène Delacroix, "Liberty Leading the People", oil on canvas, the Louvre, 1830
The most famous of Delacroix's paintings, this oeuvre commemorates the July Revolution of 1830. Though the revolutionary moment proved short-lived — Napoleon III ended the 2nd Republic 21 years later — this work became a timeless celebration of revolt and freedom. The grimy appearance of the central figures evinces a spirit of popular revolt. The French tricolore speaks to the Romantic school's nationalist leanings. -
Period: to
Spanish Civil War and WWII
An elongated WW2 that includes the beginning and end of the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). -
Pablo Picasso's "Guernica"
Pablo Picasso, "Guernica", oil on canvas, Museo Reina Sofia, 1937.
Picasso painted Guernica after the bombing by Axis forces of the town of the same name during the Spanish Civil War. A timeless anti-war protest, Picasso's work decried the unopposed intervention by other nations on behalf of Spanish fascists; the work's instant popularity thus raised the profile of the war. Picasso's distinctive cubist style emphasizes the plight of the bombing's civilian victims — it is poignant protest art. -
Leo Haas's "Transport Arrival"
Leo Haas, "Transport Arrival", India ink and wash on paper, Yad Vashem, 1942.
Haas, a prisoner in the Theresienstadt Ghetto, produced this under the guise of creating propaganda art for the Nazis. Its hidden depiction of the suffering of inmates at labour camps undermined Nazi lies about the Holocaust, and it joined much of Haas's work as post-war court evidence of Nazi atrocities. Haas's ability to produce covert protest art while imprisoned is a testament to the power of individual dissent.