a substitution for classicism: gustave moreau’s oedipus ... · sphinx’s face becomes the next...
TRANSCRIPT
A Substitution for Classicism: Gustave Moreau’s Oedipus and the Sphinx
By: Harper Paradowski
In Gustave Moreau’s, Oedipus and the Sphinx, he denies the archaic myth its natural
pictorial environment of classicist aesthetics, and instead imbues the tale with European forms.
As a student of David, this would be considered a reactionary piece to the plethora of
neoclassical paintings of the Davidian era. From the figurative style, to the saint-like depiction
of Oedipus, and the royal trappings which outfit the sphinx; Moreau repeatedly throughout the
piece chooses to substitute the greek and roman aesthetics of classicism with components
visually representative of several stylistic periods including compositional elements from Andrea
Mantegna, and anatomical decisions which parallel those of medieval figurative work. Confusing
intro: 1) you need to explain that this was a painting made in France in 1864; 2) you need to
explain that its subject is based on a Greek tragedy by Aeschylus; 3) then you can say that, rather
than depicting it in 5th century BC Greece, the artist used a number of sources from later eras and
civilizations; 4) finally you introduce what is your main point (why is discrepancy interesting to
you?)
The viewer may enter the pictorial plane through any one of the paintings beginnings,
however, they are most likely to start at the two figures occupying this space. Here, Oedipus is
painted by Moreau as a passive character, his body, limp and relaxed, resting upon the warm
rock formations which encompass him, with a thick saturated air. This complementary contrast
between the heavy, saturation of the rocks, and the slender, pale male form, intensifies the
physicality of Oedipus’ body lifting even more weight off the male figure’s shoulders.
Concurrently, this rendition of Oedipus bares an effeminate beauty, one not commonly seen in
neoclassicist works; and is very out of place in a greek myth highlighting a moment of
intellectual accomplishment, as well as the bravery and strength of man. Regardless of the dark
twisted path this encounter eventually leads Oedipus down. In a more neoclassicist style, Jean-
Formatted: Strikethrough, HighlightComment [1]: Bad writing
Comment [2]: You will need to explain what is classicist aesthetics and what you mean by European forms (isn’t classicism European too?)
Comment [3]: By whom: David? Other students? Art historians?
Comment [4]: Wrong commas
Comment [5]: G and R. Why would Roman style be more appropriate than, say, Renaissance?
Formatted: Superscript
Comment [6]: This sentence makes no sense. Before saying this you should tell your reader what is depicted in the painting and what are the painting’s “beginnings”
Comment [7]: Wrong syntax
Comment [8]: unclear
Comment [9]: what do you mean: color saturation? Why would this contrast with the slender form? (are you talking about color or form?)
Comment [10]: we’ve actually seen a number of effeminate male figures from the neoclassical period + Moreau works more than half century after Neoclassicism. Yes he’s using a Greek tragedy but you should explain more explicitly why and how you intend to compare the work to Neoclassical art Formatted: Highlight
Comment [11]: convoluted writing
Comment [12]: unclear, explain
Auguste-Dominique Ingres’ depictions of this particular myth pose Oedipus in an active stance1,
one of contemplation and strength, the herculean pose2, displaying the idealization of the human
form, and the enlightenment of man, formal decisions more in tune with aesthetics and concepts
of classicism. Futhermore, many of the male figure’s traits connote some physical resemblance
to a Christ-like male. This double ontology, of Oedipus and the christian male figure, displays an
interesting cultural juxtaposition between the classical greek story of Oedipus and the sphinx and
the religious art of christianity, which I will come back to later in the essay.
A much clearer example of this cultural juxtaposition, is found at the crest of the sphinx’s
head. Here the sphinx is outfitted with the quintessential symbol of royalty, the crown. This
cameo of the monarchy’s position in french society, induces a thickening in the contentual
atmosphere of the artwork, alluding to some form of political commentary, to come. However,
whether being used to rejuvenate the archaic tale, or as a platform for political commentary, the
crown is undoubtedly an extreme delineation from the original myth, and is perhaps the most
notable diachronic juxtaposition within the painting. Continuing downward from the crown, the
sphinx’s face becomes the next point of discussion. Readily apparent is how the creature’s face is
painted with typical western European features, such as its blond hair, blue eyes, and pale
complexion. For an artist to be so free and imaginative with a history painting was a refreshing
sentiment, however, this painting was created at a time when history painting, and other
neoclassicist ideas, were on they’re way out, as the realist and naturalist movements began to
build up popularity.
1 See image at end of paper for visual aid. 2 Found in text. see The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, Vol. 5, (1942), pp. 68-113
Comment [13]: you have not discussed Moreau’s style yet
Comment [14]: you need to explain why Oedipus would represent the enlightenment man
Comment [15]: classicism and neoclassicism are not the same thing
Comment [16]: we don’t know how Christ actually looked like, so we are talking about various ways he has been depicted by artists (very different depending on the period, place and artist). So you need to explain which specific iconography of Christ is adopted by Moreau and what in his Oedipus looks like Christ Formatted: Highlight
Formatted: Highlight
Formatted: Highlight
Comment [17]: rather than? You need to explain how Sphinx figures had been represented before
Comment [18]: = they are
It is an interesting decision for Moreau to use such an archaic platform, such as that of
greek myth, to embellish and distort with these 19th century french motifs. However, this
painting may not be as formally unique as the cultural juxtapositions present contentually.
Several key compositional decisions can be diachronically explained. For instance, the low
vantage point, which can be found in many Andrea Mantegna paintings, an italian painter of the
15th and 16th centuries. During Mantegna’s time there was a large amount of experimentation
with the vantage point’s role in scale; however, it was not a crucial point of experimentation
during the neoclassical period. By moving the vantage point to the lower third of the pictorial
plane, the figure is forced upward giving it a monumental scale within the space. Additionally, it
is argued that Moreau makes use of certain anatomical decisions, employed by Mantegna, such
as the crinkling of the finger and toes3. Moreau’s formal likeliness to this late italian painter may
be explained by his thorough studying of the stylistic period at the Louvre4. In addition, to the
formal similarities between Moreau’s figurative decisions and Mantegna’s, amongst other italian
renaissance painters, for me there is more formal likeness in the male figure’s anatomy to that of
early medieval art.
In an alternative method to Mantegna’s highly sculpted grounded figures, the nude
rendition of Oedipus in Moreau’s painting is flat, gaunt, and blockish. A figure which frequently
appears in the dark religious art of the medieval ages; often Jesus is portrayed in a similar
deprived physicality. Concurrently, the passive pose of Oedipus takes on a similar physical and
emotive weightlessness to that of christ as he is depicted in some early orthodox illustrations, 3 Contains block quote from primary source giving this review.<-- ??? see The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 146, No. 1218 (Sep., 2004), pp. 610 4 Found in the Met’s abstract of the work and its influence, "Gustave Moreau: Oedipus and the Sphinx" (21.134.1) In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/21.134.1. (December 2008)
Formatted: Highlight
Formatted: Highlight
Comment [19]: this word does not exist
Comment [20]: wrong word
Formatted: Highlight
Formatted: Highlight
Comment [21]: like what? It doesn’t look early medieval at all to me
Formatted: Highlight
hanging off the cross5. This weightlessness can possibly be attributed to the physical contrast in
density between the figure and the blocky geological forms which surround it. Creating a similar
weightlessness to that of jesus as he hangs off the cross. However, in Moreau’s painting the
figure hangs from the rocks in an odd tranquillity, in contrast with the suffering weightlessness
put upon christ in depictions of him post crucifixion. A final similarity between Moreau’s
Oedipus and early depictions of Christ, are their facial expressions. Both wear relatively
inexpressive demeanors, with undertones of melancholy. From these expressions i get a sense of
detachment, especially in context with the severity of the situations both of the men find
themselves in, within their own stories. Oedipus should be terrified or at least startled by the
monster clinging to his chest, just as christ should be imbued with sorrow and pain as he hangs
from the cross to atone for the sins of the many. Now after having traced, mapped, and analyzed
the numerous ways christianity is woven into the myth I can appreciate the complexity of the
painting’s contentual side.
In conclusion, Moreau has pulled the myth so far out of its greek origins, so that it may
be tinkered with. Using the myth only as an outline to be filled in and contextualized by the
iconic 19th century motifs found throughout the artwork. Motifs, which shine through the
Davidian aesthetics he has recycled to make commentary on his master’s use of the historical
painting as a genre, and launch his own refreshing application of the historical painting forth.
The intricate weaving of the various contextual bodies present within the work forms a strong
cohesive identity for the painting both contentually as well as compositionally. From the striking
sense of perspective, to the beautiful form of the effeminate Oedipus, Moreau has done an
5See image at end of paper for visual aid. Unknown artist. Crucifixion of Our Lord Christ. Unknown completion date (russian medieval age). Web. 1st October 2015
Comment [22]: ok, but this is not early medieval
Formatted: Highlight
Formatted: Highlight
Comment [23]: but Oedipus is looking into the eyes of the sphinx
Formatted: Highlight
Comment [24]: you have compared his pose to that of Christ, which is one of the most-often depicted figures in the history of European painting and it was normal for an artist to take it as a model to depict human anatomy. Are you sure that this interpretation of Oedipus was perceived as interwoven with Christian tones? Your point would be stronger if you could demonstrate that Moreau himself or the original viewers during Moreau’s time saw this as a Christ-like figure Formatted: Highlight
Formatted: Highlight
Comment [25]: like what, you have not discussed them
Comment [26]: like what? You have not mentioned David before this
Comment [27]: David was not Moreau’s teacher, so you need to explain in what way you are calling him Moreau’s master
Comment [28]: unclear
exceptional job at using the myth of Oedipus as a platform to create a new vocabulary of
aesthetics, and set a new trend in the contextual structure of history painting.
.
You have some good ideas but you need to put them together into a coherent
argument. Explain things as simply as possible following a linear and consequential logic: 1)
explain what Moreau represents and how; 2) compare him to more traditional interpretations of
the same subject (for example Ingres); 3) conclude that he uses a Greek myth like neoclassical
painters but he introduced new elements taken from Mantegna and Byzantine tradition; 4)
explain why this is relevant: what did he want to emphasize? What did a Greek myth mean to
him and to the 1860s public as opposed to Ingres and his public half century earlier.
Many spelling and syntax mistakes (mostly signs of carelessness).
Grade: 8/15
Comment [29]: compared to what?
Deleted:
Formatted: Line spacing: double
Works Cited Page
1. Peter Cooke. “Gustave Moreau's 'œdipus and the Sphinx': Archaism, Temptation
and the Nude at the Salon of 1864” The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 146, No. 1218
(Sep., 2004): pp. 609-615. Print.
2. Laura Morowitz. Rev. of Oedipus and the Sphinx, by Gustave Moreau. The Art
Bulletin, Vol. 82, No. 2 (Jun., 2000): pp. 369-371. Print.
3. "Gustave Moreau: Oedipus and the Sphinx" (21.134.1) In Heilbrunn Timeline of
Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/21.134.1. (December 2008)
Moreau, Gustave. Oedipus and the Sphinx. 1864. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York. Web. 20th September 2015.
Ingre, Jean-Auguste-Dominique. Oedipus and the Sphinx. 1808. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Web. 1st October 2015
Mantegna, Andrea. Saint Sebastian. 1480. Musee de Lourve, Paris. Web. 1st October
2015.
Unknown artist. Crucifixion of Our Lord Christ. Unknown completion date (russian
medieval age). Web. 1st October 2015