The Oath of Spartacus (Louis-Ernest Barrias)

"' The oath of Spartacus"' is a marble sculpture by "'Louis-Ernest Barrias"', from between 1869 and 1871 based on a plaster piece by the same artist. Since 1975, it can be viewed in Le Jardin des Tuileries. Paris.

Description

This sculpture depicts a dying man attached to the remains of a tree on which he was crucified. His left arm and his head rests on a young boy standing at his side. The boy with his wavy hair and determined look, once held a knife in his right hand which is now damaged. His left hand affectionately holds two fingers of the hand of the dying slave.

The title suggests that this is young Spartacus, vowing to avenge this man in his last moments. Within the Roman Empire, crucifixion was a punishment reserved for those who were not Roman citizens, most often slaves, robbers, pirates, but also sometimes prisoners of war, or those condemned for political reasons. In any event, this poignant scene is actually completely imaginary: indeed, we know nothing of childhood of the young Thracian, who around the age of thirty, between 73 and 71 BC., would shake the Roman power in the worst slave revolt that it had known.

Analysis

The strength of the work is the contrast between how sweet and loving boy who stands against the man and displayed determination. There a lot of tenderness in his way as a child two fingers of the left hand of the man, almost dragging his left shoulder under the powerful arms collapsing and rest his right arm through the legs of the man... At the same time, his head slightly forward shows looking determined and hard, pointed out by pinched lips and shadow project bits from his forehead. In the same way, the way to hold the knife, the blade toward the back of the hand to move from top to bottom, like divine justice, leaves no doubt about its intentions: it will avenge the man for which he feels tenderness and who is dying at his side.

See also

= Related articles.

Man and boy (sculpture Gallery)