Art through the Ages 1. (Ch. 27) What is the interpretation of Goya's Saturn Devouring his Children?

The interpretation of Goya’s Saturn Devouring his Children is based on the myth of Saturn who feared that his children would overthrow him, so he devoured them one by one to avoid that risk. Goya lived many centuries after this ancient myth of antiquity originated. However, his own contemporary situation reflected the old myth in terms of the way the powerful rulers of the time were frantically lashing out, trying to preserve their own power by destroying the least possible threat. The wild-eyed and frenzied look of Saturn in Goya’s painting, produced between the years of 1819 and 1823, reflects what was happening in his own time. The effects of the French Revolution had spread throughout Europe and Spain had gotten to enjoy the Napoleon’s conquests. Goya’s painting reflected the insane frenzy for power.

The Protestant Revolution had led to wars throughout the Continent over the previous two centuries (Laux). The French Revolution had led to immense bloodshed in an attempt to instill a new order based on Reason (Holsti). Napoleon had invaded country after country in response, and the Spanish Inquisition was trying to root out crypto Jews to protect the country and the Church from (Elliot; Roth). In short, there was chaos, suspicion, carnage, and revolution everywhere. Goya was reflecting that reality with Saturn symbolizing Europe eating its own children in a crazed effort to save its own life. The image is disturbingly haunting and rightly so. The times in which Goya lived were not easy for anyone.

2. (Ch. 27)) How does the work of Goya relate to artistic movements of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? Use examples to support your writing.

The Baroque period followed the period of Renaissance art. During the Renaissance, Christendom—i.e., the West aka Europe—was one: united in one faith, though consisting of several states. At the end of the Renaissance, a period in which the humanist style was popular, the Protestant Reformation and Scientific Revolution occurred. Europe broke apart as religious wars were followed by new doctrines and worldviews throughout the Continent. The Enlightenment and the Age of Romanticism followed. The Baroque...

Goya’s work falls into this period, representing the horrors of the world when order and reason is lost. For example: His Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (1799) shows a man asleep at his desk as his thoughts and dreams turn into nightmarish shapes and shadows reflecting the reign of chaos in Europe at this time as men seemingly forgot how to live civilly (Schaefer).
Like other Baroque era painters, Goya used shade and shadow to convey meaning. It helped to illuminate some of the menacing aspects of his works—as in Saturn Devouring His Children. However, painters like Rembrandt and Caravaggio used shade and deep shadows usually to highlight some human aspect of their works. Goya was interested in what could be called the gothic elements of human society. In this manner, his works anticipated the Romantic Era. The Romantic Era re-introduced the concept of the gothic to the West. The gothic had already been introduced centuries earlier—i.e., in the presentation of gargoyles on cathedrals from the 11th and 12th centuries. Goya was both reflecting the past truths of society and nature and anticipating the Romantic obsession with passion and irrationality.

3. (Ch 27) How did Daumier impact French society in the 19th century?

Daumier was a caricaturist in his early years. He mocked the polite society that emerged in France following the destructive years of the French Revolution and its immediate aftermath. Daumier sympathized with the poor. He reflected the hypocrisy of the upper classes, of the industrial revolution, and of the law. As he aged, he took up painting and adopted a Realist or Naturalist style. This style helped him to depict the poverty of the working classes in very evocative terms, for example, as he did in the Laundress. His style and charm helped him to win a following (Kleiner).

French society at the time was undergoing its own changes. There was a giant push for more democratization. The working class was being exploited. The industrialists were the ones doing the exploitation. Daumier helped to shed light on this era by mocking those in power and drawing sympathy to the plight of…