Page 311 - Beholding Liberty!

HALL OF THE TROPHIES
published by Winkelmann (Johann Joachim Winck- elmann, Monumenti Antichi Inediti, Rome 1767, pl. 142). Contrary to the contemporary painting trends at the time to emphasise expression, there- fore, David insists on the idealised art of classical Antiquity advocated by pure Neoclassicism.
He depicts the Spartan hero surrounded by his comrades-in-arms before the battle, preparing for combat. This is nevertheless a homage to their heroic sacrifice, as wreaths are extended towards the warrior, upper left, whose sword carves on the rock Simonides’ epigram for the Spartans who died at Thermopylae. Napoleon saw the painting on April 6, 1815, in the painter’s studio, and ap- plauded it, although earlier on he had disapproved of the choice of subject, as it depicts warriors who would be defeated. Another view sees this paint- ing as foreshadowing Napoleon’s own defeat and heroic fall at Waterloo, a few months later (June 1815), thus presenting Bonaparte as a modern Leonidas.
Leonidas dominates, placed centrally in the com-
position, in direct connection with the viewer. His heroic nudity and ideal beauty suggest that he is a model of virtue (exemplum virtutis), founded on his moral victory, and essentially lend him the im- mortality he will gain through his brave sacrifice. This painting was produced at a time of seeking new models, and this was the painter’s intention, as, in a writing accompanying the painting in his studio, he suggested that the sacrifice of Leoni- das and his companions had a stronger impact than the most illustrious victories.
In the context of the philhellenic movement sweeping across Europe, particularly popular in France in the mid-1820s, David’s Leonidas was promptly adopted in the philhellenic art of the time. This engraving was published by Jean-Nico- las Laugier (1785-1875) in early 1826 under a Greek title (Λεωνίδας εν Θερμοπύλαις), with a ded- ication to the Greeks (Dédié aux Hellènes). Laugier had in fact visited David, then in exile in Belgium, a few days before the latter died, to obtain his approval.
SCENES AND FIGURES OF FREEDOM The phenomenon of Philhellenism 311