Art and Society - a Two-blade Sword Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Art and Society - a Two-blade Sword - Essay Example Let us not forget that this step forward was often viewed as a threat to the political, social and clerical institutions. Looking into history, one of the most pertinent manners in which art was counter-attacked by art was the period of Renaissance and Baroque, when the church produced massive art just to minimize the popularity of the teaching brought by the new homo universal concept. There can be identified two types of art approaches towards society problems. The first one can be greatly noticed in the famous painting of the republican Frenchman Édouard Manet, Execution of Maximilian. This approach reveals the political oriented art that either comes from a great patriotism or from a great admiration or disapproval towards the leaders. Maximilian is a French duke left alone in Mexico after the civil war and who was finally executed together with his two generals. This deed of defiance inspired Manet to paint this "modern barbarism" painting (Stevens 10). The political message seems to be clear out in this painting, although it ignores the true social realities that were obvious in Mexico. The utmost desire was to represent the event from the French point of view and not from a legitimate and impartial one. The painting is composed of three main groups of characters: the executioners, the spectators and the victims. The spectators might seem scared because o ne system is falling and another one is rising without any connection to them. On the other hand, the relationship between the victims and the murderers seems a little strange. The executioners look bored, knowing that this is the right thing to do, as they are soldiers and their life depends on executing the jobs given. The figure that impresses us the most is Maximilian.