Gericault vs David
... Theodore Gericault’s Wounded Curaissier and Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon Crossing the Saint Bernard Pass both present two different standpoints from one very important historical military campaign. ... We will begin the study of composition through the background of Theordore Gericault’s Wounded Curaissier. ... Gericault purposely sketches the soldier’s body in a very unnatural and uncontrolled position. ... His eye-contact wanders off of the painting, similar to David’s gaze in Bernini’s sculpture from the Baroque Period. ... Gericault’s choice of color palette clues the viewer into his intentions for the feel of this painting. ... Composition, line and shape, and space all play just an important role in the backgrounds of Jacques-Louis David’s, Napoleon Crossing the Saint Bernard Pass. ... Much like in Gericault’s painting the subject is composed center to the work of art. ... The mountain ranges in the back are few and distinguishable due to the lighter choice of color palette, as opposed to the dark mountains of Gericault. ... One major difference in the David painting that creates a very subtle effect on the viewer is the Placement of the Viewer to the subject of the painting. ... Lastly, space plays a much different role in this painting than it does in the Gericault painting. ... And the spaces, created through the careful placement of the mountain ranges by use of color in the background emphasize Gericault’s unaffordable distance and David’s comforting distance.