About The Artist - Jean Auguste
Dominique Ingres (August 29, 1780 - January 14,
1867) |
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Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres was a French Neoclassical
painter. |
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About
The Painting - Oedipus and the Sphinx |
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According to
Greek mythology, Oedipus after having guessed riddle
posed by Sphinx (part woman, part bird, part lion who
killed anyone who didn't answer her riddle correctly)
not only won the Thebes Kingdom but also won a trophy
wife - Jocasta - who later turned out to be his mother.
Sphinx on the other hand jumped to her death in humiliation.
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Ingres first
painted this subject in 1808, but later reworked on
the painting of Oedipus and the Sphinx from 1826-27
and made some alterations. |
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Regarded as the
forbearers of the Neoclassical era, Ingres's art was
a depiction of historical scenes of his times and he
was a master at expressive distortions of space and
forms as can be seen the Oedipus and the Sphinx. |
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As the pupil
of Jacques-Louis David, Ingres was particularly fascinated
by works of the great Raphael. |
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The painting
of Oedipus and the Sphinx is not as simple as it appears.
Clearly, this is a complicated subject handled deftly
by Ingres. The underlying theme is of a man who is at
ease and courageous enough to face his possible death
with confident. Here Ingres implies that the man in
his painting can succeed even under dire circumstances
such as death-dealing monster. |
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In Oedipus and
the Sphinx, the position of the Sphinx is subsidiary
(more a shadow and not in the center of the frame) and
is not shown in any detail. While Oedipus is shown in
great detail (muscular body, well-proportioned body)
and the expression on his face is one of full focus
at the task at hand - that of answering the riddle.
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Though Oedipus
is in a cave, bright light from the left floods in and
at the right, through a gap in the cave, blue sky and
a city at a distance can be seen as a reminder of the
existence of a beautiful and peaceful and safe world
beyond the lair of the monster indicate hope and happiness
after pain. |
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Ingres's Oedipus
and the Sphinx is a highly motivating and cleverly crafted
painting that speaks of hope, faith and confidence and
inspires the viewer to never give up however, difficult
the task at hand. |
