Organization and is represented by the lateral
arrangement of three figurative blocks across a backdrop of an orderly arcade.
However, stability is skewed in how interactions favor the left side of the canvas
and passive desperation is placed on equal footing in its relationship to the
picture plane. The composition verges on hyper-realism; the brothers gesture to
the focus of their oath, while their father appeals to the Gods. The observer’s
relationship to the witnessed events is tenuous.
Works by masters such as Caravaggio and Georges de la Tour are referenced by an enriched sense of drama based on formal and conceptual measures. Value bathes the interactions of the foreground in light, generating a strong impression that the favor or at least attention of the Gods is directed on them. Single-point perspective is built in a similar manner to Perugino’s Delivery of the Keys to Saint Peter in the tiling and Fra Angelico’s Annunciation in the arcade. Though an impression of fantasy is strong, the order-establishing measures place the observer near at hand, fully engaged in the gravity of the moment.
The pleading disposition of the father and sinuous power of his sons is hard to miss. By pledging their lives, and relinquishing their weapons (which seem to be 18th century rather than Roman Kingdom-era weapons) they seek to demonstrate humility and receive a blessing. These interactions place unmistakable directional forces on the father, not to mention his location on the canvas. Residual focus is placed on the remaining two subject blocks.
A theme of nationalistic sacrifice is repeated by the oath and the tragedy the women will soon be forced to endure. One is the wife of one of the men (the Curatii) who the Horatii are to fight; another is betrothed to one of the Curatii. No matter the outcome, the women will suffer, while the men may live. The message of sacrifice for the nation-state was endorsed by the French monarchy during the tumultuous time leading up to the French revolution. Paintings such as this one also represent a conceptual inversion of the lighthearted nature of the Rococo style.
Works by masters such as Caravaggio and Georges de la Tour are referenced by an enriched sense of drama based on formal and conceptual measures. Value bathes the interactions of the foreground in light, generating a strong impression that the favor or at least attention of the Gods is directed on them. Single-point perspective is built in a similar manner to Perugino’s Delivery of the Keys to Saint Peter in the tiling and Fra Angelico’s Annunciation in the arcade. Though an impression of fantasy is strong, the order-establishing measures place the observer near at hand, fully engaged in the gravity of the moment.
The pleading disposition of the father and sinuous power of his sons is hard to miss. By pledging their lives, and relinquishing their weapons (which seem to be 18th century rather than Roman Kingdom-era weapons) they seek to demonstrate humility and receive a blessing. These interactions place unmistakable directional forces on the father, not to mention his location on the canvas. Residual focus is placed on the remaining two subject blocks.
A theme of nationalistic sacrifice is repeated by the oath and the tragedy the women will soon be forced to endure. One is the wife of one of the men (the Curatii) who the Horatii are to fight; another is betrothed to one of the Curatii. No matter the outcome, the women will suffer, while the men may live. The message of sacrifice for the nation-state was endorsed by the French monarchy during the tumultuous time leading up to the French revolution. Paintings such as this one also represent a conceptual inversion of the lighthearted nature of the Rococo style.
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