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Mars Being Disarmed by Venus

Mars Being Disarmed by Venus
Artist	Jacques-Louis David
Year	1824
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	308 cm × 265 cm (121 in × 104 in)
Location	Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels

Mars Being Disarmed by Venus is the last painting produced by the French artist Jacques-Louis David. He began it in 1822 (aged 73) during his exile in Brussels and completed it three years later, before dying in an accident in 1825. His main goal with this work was to create a combination of artistic Idealism and Realism. Specifically, he wanted to take the idealized forms of mythology and combine them with the attention to detail found in realism. This combination of two dueling ideals is not something found only in its artistic style as the duality between masculinity and femininity also plays an important role in the themes and messages of the painting.

Once finished he sent it to an exhibition in Paris from his exile, knowing that by then Romanticism was ascendant in the Salon. In 2007 it was displayed in the main hall of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, close to the entrance where it continues to remain. Though despite its position indicating a desire for people to see it, this painting received a very poor critical response when it first came out. This poor reception did not apply to the public reception though as while the critics saw it in a negative light, over time this painting gained a positive following among the public.

Physical Description

At over 3 m (10 ft) high it is an imposing work. Set before a temple floating in the clouds, Venus the goddess of love, and her followers, the three Graces and Cupid are shown taking away the weapons, helmet, shield, and armor of Mars the god of war. He allows himself to be disarmed and gives in to Venus's charms. Most of David's models for it were figures involved in the Théâtre de la Monnaie: Venus was modeled by the actress Marie Lesueur, Cupid by Lucien Petipa, Mars by a subscriber or 'abonné', and one of the Graces by the Prince of Orange's mistress.

This painting is notable for not having a distinct artistic style with David actively taking from conflicting sources for the exact appearance of the painting. The themes that David used in this painting are better defined through ancient versus modern rather than idealism versus realism. This distinction is further expanded on by art historian, Philippe Borde, who claimed David was embracing “a past which was more than just the beau ideal and of a present which was more than a stake in realism”.

Critical Response

While being the last painting David made before his death, there was a distinct lack of attention given to this painting when it first came out. This is due to the response to the painting by critics when it first came out being very much painted by Jacques-Louis David's position in political exile. The critics focused entirely on the technical skill of the painting with the other thematic meanings being ignored. Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect as ignoring the exile of Jacques-Louis David made it more well-known. This led to strong feelings of separation from Jacques-Louis David as an artist in his audience which only further increased the positive reception of the painting.

Analysis

Power of the Feminine

The use of the mythological figures of Venus and Mars has a very specific purpose for the themes of the painting. That is to show the duality between the ideals of masculinity and femininity and more specifically how the ideals of femininity conquer the ideals of the masculine. Venus is the ideal of femininity in how she is the goddess of love with femininity being connected to emotionality and pleasure. Mars is the ideal of the masculine in how he is the god of war with the ideals of masculinity being things like strength and determination. Their interaction in this painting shows how Jacques-Louis David believed in the capability of emotions and pleasure to win over the masculine ideals of strength and determination.

It should be noted that the theme of femininity as a unique strength is a theme that has been seen before in previous paintings of Jacques-Louis David like Antiochus and Stratonica or Minerva Fighting Mars. What makes the use of this theme in this painting interesting as it is a return to form for Jacques-Louis David. Themes of masculinity and war were for a time far more prominent due to these themes fitting the values of the French government at that time. This is seen in paintings like the Oath of the Horatii, but Mars being disarmed by Venus shows a rejection of these themes by Jacques-Louis David.

An example of the feminine triumphing over the masculine

The three soldiers are meant to embody masculine virtues with their determination and willingness to fight for a greater cause.

Reinvention of mythology

As David's last painting, this piece holds a special significance with David wanting to be his "last testament" in painting form. This is shown by how he used this painting as a way to "re-invent" something with this something being mythology. What makes Jacques-Louis David's use of mythology different from his contemporaries was that his depiction of these figures lacked any idealization. A good example of this is the painting Love and Psyche (David), which despite its fantastical elements is firmly based on the aesthetic of realism. While Mars being disarmed by Venus is not based on the same style of artistic realism, it doesn't fall into idealism with its themes.

In terms of the artistic style of Mars being disarmed by Venus, there are clear influences of idealism with the exaggerated posing of the subjects, especially in the three Graces behind Venus and Mars. Though this idealism is not seen in the subject matter as David rewrites the established relationship between these mythological characters with art historian, Simon Lee, describing these changes as, "the element of fantasy, previously so important in mythological painting, is substituted by parody".

Political messaging of painting

In terms of technical art, this painting can be described as combining competing themes of idealism and realism, but this duality comes beyond the nature of just artistic style. It uses the subject matter of mythology as a way to explore the relationship between masculinity and femininity. Mars and Venus are used as examples of the ideal masculine and the ideal feminine. Though what is interesting about this relationship is that in the story of the painting Venus conquers Mars.

This is where the political messaging of the painting becomes clear as the period that Jacques-Louis David painted this was dominated by the philosophy of Neoclassicism, which was a cultural philosophy that glorified concepts of strength and masculinity. It should be noted that while Neoclassicism was a cultural movement, it was a cultural movement directly promoted by the government to promote specific ideals in the population. Venus subduing Mars takes on a political dimension as it can be seen as a direct attack on these highly treasured ideals of the government. David is making a statement that the ideals of emotionality and empathy, which were much more connected to the ideals of Romanticism, will come to triumph over Neoclassicism. This desire to destroy the ideals of Neoclassicism doesn't come out of nowhere for David as he was one of the artists commissioned by the government to create with that style directly contracting David's personal beliefs. Art Historian, Satish Padiyar, specifically describes the dominance of Venus over Mars as showing how David “pulls his once authoritative language apart, shatters and disarms it.”

External links

• Musee royaux catalogue entry

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