I admired one of the paintings of David very much: "The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon".
So, my friend alerted me about this programme via SMS today.
What I love about this painting is its beauty, the realism, but NOT the glossing of Napoleon.
The techniques demonstrated in this painting were beyond words.
Everything is so real, you feel like you could walk into the painting any minute.
And in fact, this was the same comment by Napolean himself at the time.
The techniques are impeccable, yet the message of the painting not commendable.
I always have one principle in relation to art and/or pop art: separate the art from the artist.
I never fall for the artist of a great piece of art just because of the work itself.
This time, it is just so important.
Because the same David painted the "Death of Marat", trying to picture the person, who sent thousands and thousands of fellow Frenchmen to death, as a saint.
To imagine such an act from such a gifted painter - it's simply tragic.
It demonstrated how a person could be corrupted by his desire for power and influence. He was the propaganda machine for the French Revolution which treated bloodsheding as merely the not-so-pretty means to a grand end.
The gift could have been used in glorifying the good and the virtuous, but he chose to gloss over the wrongs, such as this.
This is beautiful, yet deadly.
More about this person at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-Louis_David
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