Art Analysis: Ossian Awakening

Ossian Awakening the Spirits on the Banks of the Lora with the Sounds of His Harp
François Gérard’s painting, Ossian Awakening the Spirits on the Banks of the Lora with the Sounds of His Harp, depicts an intense, yet somber nocturnal scene. In the foreground sits Ossian at the bank of a narrow river playing his harp. “His head is bent with profound feeling; his clenched fingers and rigid arms, along with the disarrayed flow of his hair, convey the energy with which he plays… [Facing] him is the seated commander, Fingal, with his first wife and mother of Ossian, Roscrana. Behind them are warriors, and toward the center of the picture, gesturing openly to Ossian, is the legendary bard Ullin. Behind Ossian, Oscar and Malvina embrace; above them float four celestial maidens, two of whom play harps, while the third and uppermost, a figure reminiscent of women painted by Botticelli, sews flowers taken from a basket held aloft by the fourth.” (Rubin). A discarded spear lays at his feet, spearhead pointing to
Depicting France’s rooster over Austria’s eagle was “…only the beginning of a catalog of allegorical correspondences to persons and recent political events, ingeniously conceived but nearly impossible to decipher without the guidance of a detailed inventory.” (Art in the Age of Revolution). Girodet filled the canvas with so many bodies, so much color, and so much information that without a full understanding of Ossianic literature, French history, and Classical symbolism it is near impossible to understand the full implication of the piece at first glace. “It has been described as startling 'even in a post-Surrealist world' [and] It 'flouted every canon of classical 'rule"… while at the same time referring to a recent event…”