Jacques Louis David And Caravaggio Essay

The paintings that I have chosen to compare are the works of Jacques Louis David and Caravaggio. Both painters have different styles of work and are from two different movements. Death of Socrates is by Jacques Louis David, from the Neoclassicism era, in France, and its medium is oil on canvass. The Crucifixion of St. Peter is by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, from the Baroque era, in Rome, and its medium is oil canvass. The Neoclassic era began in 1765, as a reaction to the Baroque era. In the Death of Socrates, the work of Jacques promotes the value of enlightenment in the French revolution. The subject of the painting is an enlightenment figure, Socrates. The painting expresses the style during its period because as a philosopher Socrates was accused of impiety towards the Athenian Government and was found …show more content…
In The Crucifixion of St. Peter, promotes what the style of movement was around its time. Having influence and reflected the religious tension of the age of Roman Catholicism. The painting shows the three shady characters with their faces hidden, dragging the cross in which St. Peter's feet have been nailed to. The usage of light draws your attention to the focal point of the piece and shows the fear a man has of dying. In both of the painting you see how different martyr of the period succumb to their death and the fear one character has while the second seems to embrace it. The usage of darkness and light shows where the artist wanted the attention of the audience to shift to. Both of the pieces have background characters . The difference in the paintings is the history behind it. In one you have a philosopher being accused of corruption while the second painting is the crucifixion of a bishop in the Catholic Church. Their use of brush strokes also differ, one painting show the heaviness in strokes while the second seems light