Romanticism and Neoclassicism in Art

Liberty Leading the People versus Mars Being Disarmed by Venus

Perhaps Eugène Delacroix’s most famous painting, La Liberté Guidant le Peuple, strongly contrasts the painting by Jacques-Louis David Mars Desarme par Venus. From the Romantic era, Delacroix’s work already brings certain expectations to the mind: the brushwork is rougher, showing the various strokes; the emotion not only conveyed by the characters within but also the emotion evoked in the viewer is strikingly powerful; the overall themes accentuate the dramatization as well as the historical story carried through.

Lady Liberty, bare-breasted and raising the French flag in one hand and a musket in the other, rallies the men in arms as they trudge on the fallen soldiers. The historical depiction is the French Revolution. This war, coupled with the Industrial Revolution, were common subjects of the Romantic era. Strong emotions such as despair, anger, determination, resentment, depression, and many others were commonly evident in Romanticism. Liberty Leading the People makes no exception. The men, armed with muskets and pistols, range from lower class workers to bourgeoisie. All implied lines and distinct lines drawn from objects like the muskets, gazes, and body parts, entice the viewing eye to Liberty.

The Neoclassic techniques and style evident in David’s painting bring standard connotations as well: the Greek architecture in the background, the stylistic clothing, and setting are all recognizable examples of the Greek narrative. That aside, the painted characters are like porcelain and come closer to achieving the feel of being paintings of statues than being paintings of people. The brush strokes are clean with distinct lines, minimal contrast, and a wide color palette. Emotion remains carried by the characters, though this emotion is relatively bland.

David’s derived his narrative from Greek mythology, described well by the title Mars being Disarmed by Venus. Venus with the three Graces and Cupid sensually approach Mars, removing his arms and war regalia. Unlike the painting by Delacroix, there is little sense of movement. The painting appears staged compared to the “happening now” sense portrayed by Delacroix’s characters. This may be due to the scenes’ lighting. If David’s painting were a photograph, it would be in a studio with a matte background and at least a three-point lighting kit. This lighting would eliminate dark shadows and create a degree of softness in the work. Whereas, in the other painting, the lighting appears extremely natural with very dark shadows and a sharp, but dim light.

Comparing the dissimilarities between these two paintings isn’t difficult.  Liberty Leading the People and Mars being Disarmed by Venus remain distinct and different. Yet they also possess unique parallels. It is regarded that the Liberty character is metaphoric of a goddess figure, evident in her Greek-like face. In contrast, the deified nature of the characters in the other painting is immediately clear. This leads to a conclusion that is both a similarity of the works as well as a contrast. Commonly known, Mars is the Greek god of war and Venus is the goddess of love. Venus disarming Mars is clearly symbolic of the notion of love defeating war. Liberty Leading the People is opposite this viewpoint. Love is not evident except in the face of Liberty for the French people.

Liberty Leading the People and Mars being Disarmed by Venus, though paintings deriving from two different movements of art, are different primarily in the ways that these movements are different. Though Liberty is historical and Mars is mythological, they both cover the same theme. Their theme, war, nonetheless is taken from separate viewpoints: war represented by Mars, rendered powerless by love (personified by Venus) versus Liberty leading the onslaught of extreme violence. Neither viewpoint is more necessary than the other is. In actual war or rumored wars, depending on the situation, both viewpoints are necessary.