Rebels & Martyrs at The National Gallery

Written by Chandra Kincheloe Wednesday, 09 March 2011 23:45

London - The artist as a rebel battling against society, a tortured and misunderstood genius, has a powerful hold on our collective imagination.  This exhibition traces the development of this idea, from the birth of Romanticism through to the early 20th century and the avant-garde.

Bringing together works by many of the great artists of the period, including Delacroix, Courbet, Manet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Rodin, Picasso and Schiele, it explores how they responded to Romantic ideas about creativity and deliberately cast themselves as outsiders and visionaries.  On exhibition until 28 August, 2006.

In the late 18th century, most ambitious artists wanted to make their mark within the establishment.  They were proud to be associated with influential patrons, and it was an honor to be admitted to the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris or the Royal Academy of Arts in London, where tradition was highly valued. 

As founding President of the Royal Academy in London, Sir Joshua Reynolds sought to raise the status of artists.  He depicted himself wearing the robes of a doctor of Civil Law, the honorary degree bestowed on him by Oxford University.  The bust of Michelangelo in the background and his Rembrandt-like beret make clear reference to artistic traditions.  The message is clear: this is an artist of distinction in the long line of great masters.

Elizabeth Vigée Le Brun based her self portrait on Rubens's 'Portrait of Susanna Lunden ' known as 'Le Chapeau de Paille' (The Straw Hat).  A favorite of the French Queen Marie Antoinette, she earned an international reputation for her stylish portraits of royalty and aristocracy.  In 1783 she secured one of only four seats reserved for women at the Académie Royale in Paris.

The idea of the artist as a rebel battling against society, a tortured and misunderstood genius, emerged with the birth of Romanticism.  For Romantic artists, a unique artistic vision was far more important than worldly success.  They rejected the idea that great art was founded on academic rules: genius was innate and the true artist should pursue his individual vision, even if that meant becoming isolated from society.

Romantic ideas about the artist and his calling were not only expressed through the intense gazes and furrowed brows seen in their self portraits, but were also illustrated by many of the themes these artists chose for their work, particularly in scenes from the lives of great artists and poets of the past, which were highly popular.  Thus Delacroix depicted Michelangelo as a solitary genius, alone in his studio. 

In England the poet Thomas Chatterton, who killed himself in his London garret at the age of seventeen, came to stand for the archetypal starving poet, an unrecognized genius who had poisoned himself in despair.

Visit The National Gallery at : http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/