Saint Jean-Baptiste 1849

Alexandre Cabanel painted this Saint Jean-Baptiste using oil on canvas. Unlike the frescos of the Renaissance, by this point, painting was fully industrialized, with pre-mixed colors available in tubes. But consider Cabanel’s technique. He’s using Renaissance strategies of modeling, which creates smooth skin tone and flowing drapery, and a classical pyramidal composition. What’s interesting is that the material reality of the paint almost disappears. We are meant to look past it, to the story and the feeling. This is key, because in its time, this kind of history painting was closely associated with the state. The image is pure propaganda, intended to give the viewer a sense of awe and respect for authority, in the guise of religious feeling. Think about the skill involved in creating such illusions, and how it was placed in service of the social order. Seeing how paintings like this were made, and why, gives us a window into the culture of its time.