Collection of the University of Pittsburgh Art Gallery.
1985.01.000
La République
1848 (Date created)
Oil
Painting
Paintings
23.25 in W
x
32.25 in H
(Frame)
French
An entry in the competition for a figure of La République that was held following the 1848 revolution in France.
During the night of February 24, 1848, nearly 1600 barricades were built in the streets of Paris. King Louis-Phillippe was soon toppled and the Second Republic was formed with a coalition of working class and bourgeoisie. The Revolution of 1848 marked a decisive turning point in French political, social, and artistic history.
La Republique, was an entry in the government-sponsored competition to create the symbol of the new French Republic. It actually describes the artistic and political tensions of that pivotal year by its very style and composition.
Albert Boime in his article in the March, 1971, issue of Art Bulletin has described the contest. In a dramatic egalitarian gesture the new government, reflecting its political idealism, announced the general and open competition to create the new symbol. Hesse, along with about 500 other artists, submitted his unsigned sketch (they were all to remain unsigned until the winner was declared) depicting a single figure on a #20 canvas. Among the contestants were academic, mainstream, realist, and Barbizon artists.
Amazed and excited by the many entries, the jury prolonged the judging period and extended the group of finalists from three to twenty. Hesse was eighth out of the final twenty. A sketch by Gerome, another artist represented in the University's collection, was judged eighteenth among the twenty finalists. Millet was an enthusiastic participant, but failed to place in the final twenty. Each finalist received 500 francs to help finance the finished, large-scale painted version of his original entry. Hesse's larger version is unknown today and may be lost.
In this contest the new government, reflecting the rise in individuality in artistic expression during the first half of the century, called for broadened representation and encouraged modern interpretations. But the artists had great difficulty conveying the vigor and spontaneity of their first sketches to the completed entries. Portraying the modern Republican ideal in the classical form of an allegorical figure meant concretely combining innovation with tradition. Many French artists personally and professionally struggled with this dilemma throughout most of the nineteenth century. The works in the University Art Gallery's collection embody that struggle, and Hesse's La Republique symbolizes much more than the 1848 search for a suitable figure.
Hesse's paitning is representative of his background and his life work. Trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, he had his debut at the Salon in 1824. He became known as a history painter and supported himself throughout his life doing wall paintings for churches in Europe. Just prior to the Revolution he had exhibited in the 1845 Salon a painting of The Assumption of the Virgin. La Republique is similar, for the central figure has a nimbus. The title of the book in her hand is Sanctum Evangelium (The Holiness of the Church), and she holds the sceptre of justice. The painting proclaims Hesse's idealistic attempt to combine politics and religion. His style reflects his classical training and traditional approach.
The judges were indignant at the motley results of the final entries. They refused to award any prize and decided not to hold another contest. Thus the attempt at artistic liberty in mid-nineteenth century France ended, perhaps predictably, with a desire to hold the line, to stifle the attempted individualism. (Lee Stevenson)
La Republique, was an entry in the government-sponsored competition to create the symbol of the new French Republic. It actually describes the artistic and political tensions of that pivotal year by its very style and composition.
Albert Boime in his article in the March, 1971, issue of Art Bulletin has described the contest. In a dramatic egalitarian gesture the new government, reflecting its political idealism, announced the general and open competition to create the new symbol. Hesse, along with about 500 other artists, submitted his unsigned sketch (they were all to remain unsigned until the winner was declared) depicting a single figure on a #20 canvas. Among the contestants were academic, mainstream, realist, and Barbizon artists.
Amazed and excited by the many entries, the jury prolonged the judging period and extended the group of finalists from three to twenty. Hesse was eighth out of the final twenty. A sketch by Gerome, another artist represented in the University's collection, was judged eighteenth among the twenty finalists. Millet was an enthusiastic participant, but failed to place in the final twenty. Each finalist received 500 francs to help finance the finished, large-scale painted version of his original entry. Hesse's larger version is unknown today and may be lost.
In this contest the new government, reflecting the rise in individuality in artistic expression during the first half of the century, called for broadened representation and encouraged modern interpretations. But the artists had great difficulty conveying the vigor and spontaneity of their first sketches to the completed entries. Portraying the modern Republican ideal in the classical form of an allegorical figure meant concretely combining innovation with tradition. Many French artists personally and professionally struggled with this dilemma throughout most of the nineteenth century. The works in the University Art Gallery's collection embody that struggle, and Hesse's La Republique symbolizes much more than the 1848 search for a suitable figure.
Hesse's paitning is representative of his background and his life work. Trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, he had his debut at the Salon in 1824. He became known as a history painter and supported himself throughout his life doing wall paintings for churches in Europe. Just prior to the Revolution he had exhibited in the 1845 Salon a painting of The Assumption of the Virgin. La Republique is similar, for the central figure has a nimbus. The title of the book in her hand is Sanctum Evangelium (The Holiness of the Church), and she holds the sceptre of justice. The painting proclaims Hesse's idealistic attempt to combine politics and religion. His style reflects his classical training and traditional approach.
The judges were indignant at the motley results of the final entries. They refused to award any prize and decided not to hold another contest. Thus the attempt at artistic liberty in mid-nineteenth century France ended, perhaps predictably, with a desire to hold the line, to stifle the attempted individualism. (Lee Stevenson)
In Collection
Anonymous Gift (see Notes)
Please note that cataloging is ongoing and that some information may not be complete.