In this gallery I have chosen the topic of idealized images of rulers. You will exhibit the ways rulers were depicted from all types of eras. While going through the gallery, you will experience the depiction in paintings and sculptures. Rulers' faces and bodies were depicted to be without flaw and a distinguished and wise demeanor. A ruler was always wealthy, but all of them had different ways of portraying their wealth.
The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, Jacques-Louis David, 1812, From the collection of: National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
To begin my gallery off, I have chosen a portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte by Jacques-Louis David. I chose this painting because Napoleon was not a big man like most rulers, but in this portrait he was portrayed as man who has money and power. In the portrait he shows his power by his glamorous uniform with many metals and an expensive uniform.
Elector Johann Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg on Horseback, Jan Frans Douven, called De Oude, 1703, From the collection of: Kunstpalast
The second piece chosen was Elector Johann Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neubur on Horseback by Jan Frans Douven. I chose this painting because of the power portrayed by the horse. The horse puts the ruler at high point above everyone, which portrays his superiority. The white horse shows the how strong the ruler is because only he rides the white horse. The jewelry on the horse and the uniform of the ruler portrays his wealth.
Portrait of King Ferdinand VII (Retrato del Rey Fernando VII), Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, 1815, From the collection of: Museo de Zaragoza
Thirdly, I have chosen a portrait of the King Fernando VII by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes. I chose this painting because it describes the typical idealized image of rulers. King Fernando VII portrays his wealthiness by his fur and gold on his coat. Also, his posture portrays his superiority to everyone. If you look closely in the background you can see his crown, which shows his power.
Self-portrait, Ivan Generalic, 1953, From the collection of: Koprivnica Town Museum - Gallery of Naive Art, Hlebine
In counter-point to the idealized image of rulers, I've included a portrait of the everyday farmer from the 1900's. This contributes to the my exhibition because in each of the works of art it shows what he or she owns. In this portrait, the background shows that he is a farmer. But like in the second work of art in this exhibition, it shows that the man on the horse is some type of military general. This self-portrait is similar to the rest because the facial expression shown in all of the works are dull and without much expression.
In this part of my exhibition, I have chosen a statuette of a ruler resembling Alexander. I chose this because it is a sculpture instead of a painting, but it portrays the same thing. The definition of the muscles on the statuette shows the strength of the ruler. The intriguing part of this work is the posture of the statuette. The posture shows his power and his leadership. This contributes to the rest of the exhibition by the power and strength the statuette portrays.
Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, Nicholas Hilliard (called), About 1573 - About 1575, From the collection of: Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Not all rulers are young, big, strong males. The female I chose to put in my exhibit is Queen Elizabeth I. I chose this because the portrait portrayed the same as the rest, even though she was a female. Her wealth was portrayed by her exquisite dress. The dress was covered with gold lining and jewels. Like most rulers, her wealth also showed her power. Most of her power came from her money.
Statue of Louis XIV, Jean Warin, 17th century, From the collection of: Palace of Versailles
Finally, I chose a statue of Louis XIV by Jean Warin. I chose this work of art because it portrays everything I have talked about so far. The statue shows the cut physique, the rich armor, and the posture of a ruler. Only the rich and most powerful were able to get a statue of them. This easily contributes to my exhibition because it portrays everything needed to be shown as a ruler. Every image made of a ruler is not to the exact image, but by the power of the ruler he or she edited the painting or statue to make them look more powerful. This statue portrays the ideal image of a ruler.
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