Anaxagores and Pericles

(Augustin-Louis Belle)

The reaffirmation by the authorities of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture of their support for the grand genre, the painting of subjects from the Bible, the lives of the Saints, history or mythology, encouraged ambitious young artist of widely varying talent to compete for the prizes which would bring them to the attention of both the public and the artistic establishment. A successful history painter could not only expect to receive commissions from the Crown, through the patronage of the First Painter and Surintendant des Bâtiments du Roi, but could be showered with worldly honours and titles, the cordon noir of the Order of Saint Michael and the title of Professor (with a substantial studio of fee paying students), or even Director of the Academy.

With the establishment of the Academy in the mid-seventeenth century and the rapid escalation of royal patronage – which ebbed and flowed according to the state of the nation’s finances – whole dynasties of artists made their careers in the fine arts. Families such as the Coypels and Boulognes dominated the Academy for some seventy years or more, while we may assume that even David’s ambitions were first stirred by his family connection with Francois Boucher. Among these dynasties, that of Belle is less well-known, but it nonetheless produced three generations of distinguished artists, beginning with the portraitist Alexis-Simon (1674-1734), continuing with his son Clement (1722-1806), and then his grandson, Augustin-Louis, the subject of this essay.

Having first studied with his father, the young Belle entered the Academy schools and, in 1782, won the second prize in the prix de Rome contest of 1782. Clement Belle, although little known today, had steadily progressed through the ranks of the Academy, eventually rising to the position of professor and inspector of the Royal Gobelins tapestry factory. Augustin-Louis, not unnaturally, chose to emulate his father’s career, succeeding him in 1806 as inspector of the Gobelins while pursuing a career as a teacher and painter of historical subjects.

His first Salon exhibit in 1791, the Marriage of Ruth and Boaz, earned him a prix d’encouragement of 2000 livres, which he shared with Naigeon and Mouchet. This allowed him to accept a state commission, for which he chose the story of Anaxagoras and Pericles. The final, large scale painting (Paris, Louvre), measuring 89 inches by 135 inches (2.26 by 3.43 cms) was not completed until 1796, when it was exhibited at the Salon of that year (number 20). Our painting is a finished modello for this work, painted on a more manageable scale, and was exhibited at the Salon of 1793. The calatalogue describes it as “Anaxagores, having abandoned his country and his estates, establishes himself in Athens to teach philosophy, becoming the friend, master and councilor of Pericles, who involved in the affairs of the Republic, forgot Anaxagoras. The Philosopher, reduced to indigence and believing his friend has abandoned him, wraps himself in his cloak and lies down on a couch determined to starve to death. Pericles alerted to this, comes immediately, seats himself near the Philosopher’s bed and, grasping the latter’s knees, reproaches him for wishing to die at a time when his advice is most needed. Anaxagoras, discovering him there, replies: ‘When one has the need of the light of a lamp, one puts in oil’.” The subject is taken from the Life of the Greeks by Plutarch, and also inspired J.C.N. Perrin (1754-1831), whose Friendship of Pericles for Anaxagoras (lost), for which there is a sketch in the Musée Girodet, Montargis, had been exhibited in 1791 (number 775).

Perrin’s painting, with the philosopher seated instead of lying and gesturing with his whole body, with Pericles leaning towards him, still recalls the late rococo, while Belle’s picture is pure Davidian neoclassicism. The most obvious source is David’s Socrates (New York, Metropolitan Museum), the figure of Pericles placed centrally in profile while, as in David’s great work of six years earlier, the Philosopher is half turned towards the viewer, pointing with his right arm towards a lamp placed on the top of a pole against the rear wall. The semi-nude Anaxagoras is apparently using his left hand to pull the cloak away from his face, replicating Socrates’ upwards gesture.

The subject was clearly problematic for a painter. With only two participants who had to be placed close together to follow the narrative, the artist had to devise a composition which would not leave substantial spaces on the periphery of the composition. By choosing an upright format, Perrin managed to avoid this, but Belle, determined to work on a large, horizontal scale, could not do so without altering the story. Placing Anaxagoras on the extreme right, as in the Socrates, he has balanced the composition by introducing the figure of a female attendant, seated at left in profile. Apparently listening intensely to the unfolding drama, she grips her robe while staring at the figure of the Philosopher, serving to emphasize the central figure. This accentuates the calm gravity of Pericles, who sits upright and attentive, while tying together the left and right sides of the painting. The three figures are placed on a single plane against a straight wall, on top of which can be seen various references to wisdom (the statue of Minerva at right), philosophy (the bust of Socrates) and classical learning (the frieze, paper and writing instruments). This picture, very much of its time and executed in austere colour tones with the froideur expected from an artist working in the purest neoclassical style, is an excellent example of the exaltation of Republican virtue through painting.

Provenance: Unknown until its recent discovery in France.

Literature: Pierre Rosenberg, Catalogue des Peintures du Louvre, École Française, XVII & XVIII siècle, Paris, 1974, p.255 (large version); La Révolution Française et L’Europe 1789-1799, Paris, Grand Palais, 1989, Vol III, pp.852-853, under no. 1071; Jean-François Heim, Claire Beraud, Philippe Heim, Les Salons de Peinture de la Révolution Française (1789-1799), Paris, 1989, p.135.

Matthiesen Gallery & Stair Sainty Matthiesen
1998