Introduction
Art provides an excellent way of preserving a society’s culture since artists often capture their society’s prevailing conditions. Examining artistic collections from various parts of the world thus provides an opportunity to appreciate diverse beliefs and other social aspects.
Regnault’s Painting
Automedon with the Horses of Achilles is Henri Regnault’s work, presently under the European paintings collection. Regnault developed the work in the 1860s using oil on canvas—the piece of art measures 315 centimeters by 329 centimeters, or 124 inches by 129 1/2 inches.
Automedon, a Greek warrior, is the character featured in the drawing. He is accompanied by the nation’s two divine war horses, believed to aid the troops in defeating the enemy. The two war animals are masculine, with their super-grown manes implying their ability. Regnault places Automedon at the center of the painting to portray as many features of the various characters as possible.
Automedon is almost nude, with his highly muscled body fully visible, just like the divine horses’ outstanding features—the individual struggles to hold the enormous horses together, possibly on the way to the war front. Unfortunately, the horses appear to writhe while froth fills their mouth (Figure 1), implying fear and potential tragedy, especially now that the horses are divine and thus know Automedon’s fate. Automedon, with the Horses of Achilles, depicts war and military struggles, as seen in Napoleon’s case.
Regnault established this work shortly after winning the French Academy’s esteemed Rome Prize, where he got sponsorship for further studies. At that time, France was in profound disagreement with its neighbor, Persia, threatening the breakout of a fierce war. Regnault was exempted from the war as a scholar, but certainly felt pressured by the occurrences at home. The scholarship required the artist to periodically send home pieces of his drawing to show his development.
Regnault’s first work under the sponsorship was Automedon with the Horses of Achilles, inspired by the Iliad. The artist combines warm and unflappable colors to send his message home in the painting. Automedon is an elite fighter who takes the troop’s control after the murder of Patroclus, the former Greek troops’ leader. Thus, the artist uses red for the fighter’s cloak to present power and authority.
The divine horses’ warm pigment tint also complements their huge sizes to portray might and power. The drawing’s foreground has more light than the cloudy and misty middle and background, where most of the horses’ bodies are. Dark colors show the dull, stormy background, making the froth from the horses’ mouths conspicuous.
Regnault mixes his brush strokes to exaggerate several aspects of the drawing to publicize his cultural beliefs, particularly the divinity aspect. For example, the use of solid and bold rubs on the horses’ manes and Automedon’s masculine body presents the features as mystic, showing the culture’s boastfulness in having divine gifts that help in times of need. Accordingly, Regnault’s Automedon with the Horses of Achilles triggers one to think deeply and possibly undertake further studies on at least two artistic aspects, including creative propaganda and the general subject of ancient Greece.
David’s Painting
The work substantially parallels David’s 1801 painting of Napoleon Crossing the Alps, which depicts a fighter’s authority, power, and the claim of divinity’s support and acceptance of one’s rulership. Napoleon Crossing the Alps is Jacques-Louis David’s 1801 work, similarly done using oil on canvas. The work measures 232 by 275 centimeters and is available in various museums across the U.S. David was a French artist loyal to Napoleon. His admiration of the emperor and the fighter led him to initiate the five drawings showing Napoleon’s authority, power, and acceptance by the heavens. In the painting, the French military leader,
Napoleon Bonaparte, sits astride a dashing stallion, his arm outstretched into the air (Figure 2). Napoleon’s finger points forward to the Alps mountain range, which the French soldiers are crossing. The mountains are believed to be fatal due to the harsh climatic conditions, making it hard for humans to access or cross. However, David’s painting shows Napoleon and his team crossing the rugged, deadly terrain (Figure 2), a form of imaginary publicity similarly presented in Henry’s Automedon with the Horses of Achilles.
The raised finger depicts Bonaparte’s self-assurance against the open perils. In the middle ground, the sky inclines at an angle, infused with an arriving storm that Napoleon appears ready to counter. The eye-catching presentation of the fighter, as offered by the painter, overpowers everything in the picture.
Napoleon’s horse is polished, masculine, extensive, and cooperative, unlike in the case of Automedon and the Horses of Achilles. A line of militias pace up in the middle ground, going up the mountain, carrying weapons and pushing wheeled guns. Bonaparte’s hair and cloak are facing forward, meaning that the wind blows to support the troop’s mission, inferring the deity’s support and confirmation of Napoleon as a genuine, heaven-backed French leader.
Conclusion
Consequently, Regnault and David’s art pieces discussed here have several connections, including similar themes of war and artistic propaganda. Besides being neoclassical, the two pieces portray the divinity subject, showing characters with supernatural features limited to divine elements. Accordingly, the European artworks explain the similarities between the two, despite their variations in time of creation.
References
Automedon with the horses of Achilles – works – Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (n.d.).
Napoleon Crossing the Alps – Jacques-Louis David. (n.d.). USEUM.