Comparative Analysis of Conflict Paintings in Art History

This essay provides a comparative analysis of three significant paintings that depict themes of conflict and reconciliation. The first painting examined is Jacques-Louis David's 'Intervention of the Sabine Women,' which portrays a reconciliatory theme following the abduction of the Sabine women. Next, the essay analyzes Eugène Delacroix's 'Massacre at Chios,' focusing on the depiction of suffering and atrocities during the Greek revolt against the Ottomans. Finally, the essay explores Pablo Picasso's 'Guernica,' a powerful political statement against the bombing of Guernica, emphasizing the tragedies of war and the need for peace. The comparison highlights the neoclassical approaches and the historical contexts of these works, emphasizing their roles as reminders of past conflicts and promoters of peace. The essay concludes by asserting the paintings' lasting relevance in conveying their messages to the public and their value as historical documents.

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Paint Analysis
Intervention of the Sabine by Jacques-Louis David
The painting represents the work of David in depicting the abduction of the Sabine
women by the neighboring Romans and thus the Sabine were in attempt to get them back in the
episode painted. The picture takes a reconciliatory theme. The paintwork utilizes the oil and
canvas type of paint work modern at the time. In the image, the Sabine women are seen
intervening to end or stop the bloodshed with Hersilia seen throwing herself between the king of
Rome and her father the king of Sabines (Lajer‐Burcharth 400). Thus, the author takes an
advocacy approach in depicting the reconciliatory aspect of the French people after the
revolution. The painting is critical since women play a critical role unlike in the previous works
such as The Oath of the Horatii (Mayer, 231). The painting provides a masterful summary of the
whole event as the horseman can be seen putting the sword back to the sheath while the hands
are raised as a sign of peace.
Massacre at Chios by Eugene Delacroix
The Massacre at Chios represented the second major oil painting creation by Eugene
Delacroix focusing on the massacre on the Island of Chios completed in 1824. In the event, tens
of thousands of Greeks were killed by the Ottoman troops in war at the time. The paint measures
4 by meters wide and tall respectively represent an act of desolation and terror (Fraser 23). In
the paint work, Delacroix purposed to use the desperate Greek revolt against the Turks as the

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primary subject of the paintwork. The artist uses the oil and canvas technique to project the
luminous landscape that uses the scorched sun in revealing the group of dying people.
The paint depicted a time of war where all manner of atrocities were committed ranging
from raped women, stabbed children, frenzied mothers, and slaughtered victims that provided a
terrifying situation amongst the members. Moreover, it shows a child trying to suck the breasts
of the dead mother which further provides an angry and somber mood from the image. Thus, it
depicted a theme of suffering due to the all-round persons indicated in the image that was each
facing pain regardless of their gender and age.
Further, the paint is different from the rest in conflict paints as it does not include the
picture of a hero thus taking a neutral approach in painting as it does not glorify any part of the
nation in the event. In most cases, paint work of war were sponsored by the nations that wanted
to receive accolade due to the consequences of war and depict one’s nation as great at the
moment (Eugène 42). The fact draws criticism from some quotas since a massacre must have its
executioner and the victims painted alongside. The neo-classical creation was an excellent piece
that conformed to the standards of the time based on the neo-classical school.
Guernica by Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso is a house hold name and one of the famous influential artists of the 20th
century. The work represents a political statement created in reaction to the Nazi’s casual
bombing act on the Basque town of Guernica in the midst of the Spanish Civil War. The paint
depicts the tragedies of the war and the suffering it subjects people into thus giving the image a
monumental status in reminding the population the atrocities, anti-war symbol, and eventually
acting as an embodiment of peace (Fisch and Picasso 12).

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The piece of art is 3.5 meters tall and 7.8 meters wide completed on oil and canvas style
of paint. The works was completed through proper color choice in monochromatic palette of
gray, white and black colors. The alternation of the black and white colors across the surface of
the paint develops dramatic intensity and a visual energy of the movement. The composition of
the image appears chaotic and confusing due to the violent action as images intersect and overlap
making it difficult to determine the boundary of an image (Chipp and Picasso 42). The artist uses
the image of a bull and a horse that depict different messages in the role play as the rampaging
bull represents major destruction with the horse representing the locals. Guernica acts as an
important political painting that has remained relevant as a symbol of protest and peace that
reminds of the nightmare at Basque town.
Comparison of the Paint Works
The three creations represent the theme of conflict in their depictions in the images. In all the
cases, there are images of war illustrating the theme of destruction that acted as a reminder to
people of the atrocities committed. In the first case, the Sabine women were in the process of
being rescued thus demonstrating the presence of war that brought about the struggle.
The second image represents a massacre where individuals were killed leaving
devastating scenario such as that of the child sucking a dead mother’s breast in communicating
the dark side of the war. The third one illustrates a reminder of the destruction that occurred in
reminding people of the war and thus the need for peace. The accolades the images received
represents the sign of conflict that existed at the different times altogether.
The paintings represent a neoclassicism approach towards paint which refers to the art
produce later but drawing inspiration from antiquity. The three images qualify to be in the
category since their works represents the occurrence of the past that are depicted in the paint and

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remind individuals of the atrocities (Coltman 7). The inspiration o the conflict and the need to
remind and promote peace informs the creation of the images. The theme of conflict represented
by the acts of war in the separate cases is thus a direct works belonging to the neoclassical age
(Kallendorf 52). All the paintworks can be used in history as a reminder of the pain undergone
by individuals and thus promote peace through reminding the populations on the dangers of
wars. As such, the three creations remain similar in the way their articulate their concerns and
passing the respective messages to the populations.

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Works Cited
Chipp, Herschel B., and Pablo Picasso. Picasso's Guernica: history, transformations, meanings.
University of California Press, 1988.
Coltman, Viccy. Fabricating the antique: neoclassicism in Britain, 1760-1800. Chicago, IL:
University of Chicago Press, 2006.
Eugène Delacroix. Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863): paintings, drawings, and prints from North
American collections. Metropolitan museum of art, 1991.
Fisch, Eberhard, and Pablo Picasso. Guernica by Picasso: a study of the picture and its context.
Bucknell University Press, 1988.
Fraser, Elisabeth Ann. Delacroix, art and patrimony in post-revolutionary France. Cambridge
University Press, 2004.
Kallendorf, Craig W., ed. A companion to the classical tradition. Vol. 51. John Wiley & Sons,
2010.
Lajer‐Burcharth, Ewa. "David's Sabine Women: Body, Gender and Republican Culture under the
Directory." Art History 14.3 (1991): 397-430.
Mayer, Tamar. "Drawing the Corporeal: Balance and Mirror Reversal in Jacques-Louis David's
Oath of Horatii." Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture 46.1 (2017): 229-260.