Léon-Maxime Faivre, 1856 - 1941 — French artist who painted in the style of academism. But the only theme for them he took not quite usual for academicians: instead of subjects from antiquity Faivre displayed scenes from the life of primitive people and vivid events of the French Revolution. Therefore, his paintings favorably differed from the artwork of salon academicians: they could not be called boring and not memorable, on the contrary, each picture became if not a sensation in art, then certainly attracted attention. We will talk about the two most notable paintings of Faivre in this article.
Two Mothers
In 1888, Faivre painted “Two Mothers” on a rare in painting prehistoric theme. The artist was interested in showing the basic concepts of life and death, unaffected by any civilization, when you can only hope for yourself, and the enemies are wild and merciless. In the center of the painting is a mother with two young children, and a cave bear with cubs, almost invisible in the darkness, sneaks up on them. The woman sensed the mortal danger and prepared to fight not for life but for death. In one hand she clutched a stone axe, and with the other she clutched the infant, hoping to protect him somehow. The second older boy huddles fearfully close to his mother.
Cave bear hunting
However, this is a fantasy on a free theme and there are a lot of academic conventions. Although the woman is characterized by well-developed musculature and dressed in animal skins, she does not look much like a prehistoric character: her skin is white and smooth, and her general appearance is too close to that of an ordinary washerwoman or laborer in the 19th century. Probably Febvre simply found a suitable model and diligently portrayed her, dorisavshivaya on her for greater authenticity animal skin. However, the harsh, rough face and primitive bone jewelry must have seemed more than convincing for a prehistoric character in those years.
Invaders
But the idea of what looked like cave bears and other prehistoric predators at Faivre was not any, so he did a simpler way - did not depict them at all, allowing the audience to guess their real appearance. And as we know, the most frightening of all is something unknown.
Death of the Princess de Lamballe
Another painting “Death of the Princess de Lamballe” is dedicated to the events of the French Revolution. Madame de Lamballe was part of the circle of court aristocrats. She was given in marriage to the great-grandson of Louis XIV, but he soon died, and de Lamballe remained a widow. She found herself a warm place manager in the entourage of Marie Antoinette and lived comfortably in the palace until the outbreak of the French Revolution. And then the rampaging mob got not only to the monarchs, but also to their inner circle. The Jacobins imprisoned Madame de Lamballe and held a trial. They ordered to recognize the ideals of liberty, fraternity and equality, and at the same time and curse the deposed king. From revolutionary ideals de Lamballe did not refuse, but the king did not want to curse. Such loyalty to the crown cost her very dearly: de Lamballe cruelly tortured, and then beheaded. Historical memoirs of her execution have survived, describing the horrifying details.
Death of the Princess de Lamballe. excerpt
Faivre depicts the moment when the unfortunate de Lamballe has just died from her torture. But the maddened crowd is eager to continue the massacre, the men in the back rows still waving axes and sabers. In the foreground are children curious about the spectacle, and a burly woman looking at the execution with absolute indifference, as if it were not a human being who had been killed, but a pig that had been slaughtered and now she was to scorch and butcher it.
The Death of the Princess de Lamballe. Excerpt.
Indeed, revolution drives people crazy and changes all notions of morality.
Russian beauties in the paintings of famous artists, about which not everyone knows.
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