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Part of the book: The Appearance of Character

Melissa Percival

MHRA Texts and Dissertations 47

W. S. Maney & Son Ltd for the Modern Humanities Research Association

EnlightenmentFrenchPhilosophyopen

Abstract.  Expression in mid-eighteenth century France, as in Le Brun's day, was considered to be the source of life, movement and eloquence, the very soul of painting and the ultimate intellectual and spiritual challenge to the artist. Le Brun shaped the terms of discussion on expression for succeeding generations of artists, and how they derived in particular from his work a focus on the head and face, and a functional system of specifically labelled and instantly recognisable passions. Yet despite Le Brun's hegemony over artistic theory and practice, a very different aesthetic took shape in mid-eighteenth century France. Part of this arose directly out of Le Brunian theories and formed a dialectic, both approaching and deviating from him. In turn, what was constituted as ‘Le Brunian' became further refined, not to say restricted, and formed a point of opposition to the prevailing theories. Yet other aspects of this new aesthetic differed sharply from Le Brunian co-ordinates.

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