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Art Enthusiasts: Mars Disarmed by Venus

Jacques-Louis David's painting "Mars disarmed by Venus and the three graces" depicts Mars, the god of war, being seduced by Venus while the three graces remove his armor and weapons. The main diagonal line of the composition moves the eye from Mars's body down to Venus. Venus's body forms an S-shape curve in contrast to Mars's straight posture. The painting uses repetitive vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines along with the characters' gazes to emphasize the seduction between Mars and Venus as the central focus.

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Miruna Manoilă
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159 views2 pages

Art Enthusiasts: Mars Disarmed by Venus

Jacques-Louis David's painting "Mars disarmed by Venus and the three graces" depicts Mars, the god of war, being seduced by Venus while the three graces remove his armor and weapons. The main diagonal line of the composition moves the eye from Mars's body down to Venus. Venus's body forms an S-shape curve in contrast to Mars's straight posture. The painting uses repetitive vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines along with the characters' gazes to emphasize the seduction between Mars and Venus as the central focus.

Uploaded by

Miruna Manoilă
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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THE LINE IN MARS DISARMED BY VENUS AND THE THREE GRACES

Jacques-Louis Davids, Mars disarmed by Venus and the three graces, boldly illustrates a
mythological scene of Mars, the God of War near an ornate pavilion placed in the skies. Venus is
seducing Mars, while the three graces take away his weaponry and Cupid, who is found taking off
Marss ankle guards. The subject, vividly painted, is easy to be understood, and it didnt have the high
class as the key public.

The main focal point in this painting is the relation between Venus and Mars. The eye of the
viewer is guided from the face of Mars to the nude body of Venus and it then observes the presence
of the three graces.
We find ascending and descending lines, Angular, acute and obtuse lines can mostly be seen
in the extremities of characters, arms and legs. The hand of Venus is the main ascending line. The main
diagonal of the picture is descending, Marss body, continued with Venus and Cupid, accentuated by
the warm light shed on the diagonal, makes it contrast with the cold greys and blues, and awake to
attention the characters. The general body line of Mars is a diagonal one, while Venuss body takes
the S shape, which gives the viewer the sensation of calmness, in contrast with the straight, exciting
posture of Mars.
Repetition of the lines can be observed often. The characters are aligned, and so are the
columns, and theres even architectural decorative motifs that form a pattern. The rhythm of the
vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines is highly visible. The diagonals of Marss general axe, Venus and
especially Venuss arm and leg, Cupid and the last graces posture. The horizontal lines of the clouds,
the day bed and the temples facade. Marss spear, the columns, the graces, all vertical. The
distribution of the lines is organized. The diagonal lines are in foreground, and the vertical ones are in
the background. Also, the density of the lines is rather high.
We can draw an implied line, the line of the characters sight. Venus and two of the graces are
looking toward Mars and Mars looks into the exterior of the painting, opening a seemingly closed
composition, along the foot of one of the graces. But we can see it as an psychic line as well. The
relation between Mars and Venus is the main focus and part of the paintings subject. The seduction
of Venus, and Mars, relaxing, conscious of Venuss intention.
Theres a high contrast between the artificial and natural lines. The architectural lines are
straight, mostly vertical, and the natural lines, of the bodies, are arched, soft. Even the clouds, are
rounded. The roundest lines are the ones of the female bodies. The beauty line is present as well, in
Venuss forms and the feminine roundness of the graces. But arches and curbs can also be depicted
in the shield which was taken from Mars, and the arch that Marss right arm creates.
The lines in this painting are used to create a frame, stability, but at the same time, the
sensation of dynamism. The lines help the characters stay in focus by being in contrast with the static
surroundings. They show relation and between characters and their intention and they express it in
an orderly manner.

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