Holden D. answered • 03/09/22
College Art History major
Short Answer: Politics in art can be found throughout all of art history, but many notable and powerful political artworks can be found in the 19th and 20th centuries. Neoclassical works of Revolutionary and Napoleonic France are very political and propagandistic. Some of the best examples of political art of this period are David's Oath of the Horatii, Death of Marat, and Napoleon Crossing the Alps; Gros's Napoleon Visiting a Pesthouse in Jaffa; and Ingres's Napoleon on His Imperial Throne. The political art during Romanticism uses contemporary events and personal emotion to better appeal to viewers. Important political Romantic works include Gericault's Raft of the Medusa, Goya's The Third of May, 1808, and Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People. Realism focuses on the common, everyday, and ordinary person in order to bring attention to the poor conditions of the working-class. Such works include Millet's The Sower, and Daumier's Rue Transnonain. Political art rose again in 20th century Modernism as a response to wars, economic crises, and various social issues. Good examples of Modern political art include Picasso's Guernica, many works by Kathe Kollwitz, Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother, Abstract Expressionist works, and Keith Haring's Ignorance=Fear. Ai Weiwei and Shepard Fairey are a couple of Contemporary examples of artists who create political art.
Long Answer:
Art has often been used to promote certain ideas throughout history. Monarchs and other leaders often commissioned works with a propagandistic message. However, I would say art as a political tool took on a new meaning in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many political artworks emerged from the French Revolutionary period. David is probably the most notable painter from this period.
David's famous Oath of the Horatii is taken from a Roman legend regarding a dispute between the cities of Rome and Alba. The painting depicts a scene in which three Horatii sons swear an oath before their father, vowing to fight for Rome against three brothers of Alba. Painted just years before the revolution, the work emphasized the importance of sacrifice for the good of the state. In the midst of the revolution and the Reign of Terror, David created another political painting, The Death of Marat. Here, David portrays Marat, a radical revolutionary leader associated with the Jacobins, as a martyr and hero of the revolution. After the Reign of Terror, David painted The Intervention of the Sabine Women, another scene from a Roman legend in which the Sabine women attempt to end the fight between the Sabines and the Romans. The painting called for peace and an end to bloodshed. David once again created political works under Napoleon. Perhaps his most famous Napoleonic work is his Napoleon Crossing the Alps, in which he paints an idealized and heroic depiction of Napoleon, sitting calmly and composed with only one hand controlling his rearing horse. This imagery emphasized Napoleon's ability to effectively lead a country in upheaval.
While David is a great example of political uses of art, many artists in the Napoleonic age created works of propaganda. Examples include Napoleon Visiting a Pesthouse in Jaffa by Gros and Napoleon on His Imperial Throne by Ingres. Each of these works, as well as all the Napoleonic portraits by David, contain a number of Napoleonic symbolism that elevate Napoleon's image. If you want examples of art as propaganda, art in the Napoleonic age is a great place to start.
Shortly after these Neoclassical painters were creating political works for Napoleon, the Romanticists were beginning to create political works imbued with personal emotion and imagination. Gericault's Raft of the Medusa depicted a scene from a recent event in which a shipwreck left men stranded at sea on a raft. The painting serves as a critique on the government who appointed an incompetent captain. In Spain, Goya created his famous painting, The Third of May, 1808, which depicted the execution of Spanish rebels who were resisting the invasion of Napoleon's army. There is no sense of heroism or glorification in this work. Instead, Goya creates a feeling of anger by painting a scene of human slaughter. By creating works based on current events and their own personal emotions, Romantic artists were able to convey powerful political messages that effectively appealed to the emotions of their audience. The Realist painters would similarly recognize the importance of focusing on real, modern day issues in their political works.
The Realists were concerned with the modern, ordinary, everyday person. They wanted to paint the world they knew and understood instead of painting from history. Additionally, the Realists worked in the midst of revolutions caused by poor working-class conditions. As a result, artists like Millet, Courbet, and Daumier created scenes depicting the realities and plights of the working class. While Courbet's paintings were more objective views of the lower class, Millet and Daumier painted scenes with clear political messages. Millet's depiction of a strong, dignified, noble, and confident working man in The Sower reminded viewers of their dependency on the working class for food and other necessities. The image was seen as threatening by some who feared that the image would encourage another uprising by the working class. Daumier's Rue Transnonain offered a powerful critique on the government and military after a scandal that led to soldiers indiscriminately shooting and killing everyone in an apartment building. Daumier's image depicts a dead family on the floor of their home. Other Realists continued to paint common, everyday scenes in order to bring awareness and change to the conditions of real life people.
While artists throughout the last half of the 19th century continued to use art as a political tool, a new wave of strong political artworks emerged in the 20th century due to wars, economic crises, and social issues. Artists and artworks that left powerful anti-war messages include Picasso's Guernica, which brought attention to the horrors of the Spanish Civil War. Kathe Kollwitz also created many anti-war works throughout her career. Performance artists like Yoko Ono also used art to create anti-war messages. Dorothea Lange's portraits, like Migrant Mother, emphasizes the devastation of the Great Depression and inspires sympathy and action to fix the economic problems of the day. While not directly political, the works of the Abstract Expressionists, like Jackson Pollock, celebrated the many freedoms (artistic, cultural, etc) enjoyed in the US. These ideas of freedom were used as propaganda in favor of the US and against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Other Modern artists created works to critique the rising consumer culture after WWII. Finally, various social issues inspired a rise of social activism in the form of art. Keith Haring used the power of art to raise awareness surrounding AIDS and LGBTQ topics in works like Ignorance=Fear.
Artists today continue to use art as a political tool. Examples include Ai Weiwei, Banksy, and Shepard Fairey. While politics can be found in art throughout history, the most notable political art can be found in the revolutionary periods of 19th century Europe and the 20th century.
