Art As a Weapon: Cultural Combat in 19th Century Europe
The 19th Century saw the emergence of ‘Avant Garde’ art, a term born in France to give a name to the kind of new or experimental ideas and techniques explored by artists in defiance of the stifling parameters created by the French ‘Salon’ and the British ‘Royal Academy’. During this period, political tension between the two countries as two of the strongest European powers first translated into military combat during the Napoleonic Wars at the start of the century and then transformed into a cultural contest.
The Napoleonic Wars were still fresh wounds for Britain, despite having won the Battle of Waterloo against Napoleon I in 1815. The population had tried to forget about their near escape (cue We Don’t Talk About Bruno). When his nephew, Napoleon III, took power in France following the 1848 Revolutions, Britons became uneasy, to say the least, only fueling the sense of competition between the countries.
British artist William Holman Hunt’s painting ‘Our English Coasts’ (1852) perfectly illustrates the contemporary fear of another French invasion. Hunt portrays ‘Lover’s Seat,’ the cove in Hastings where the Normans invaded Britain in 1066. Hunt's painting distinctly reflects the British worries about an unprotected coastline circling in newspapers. Interestingly, the alternative reading of the painting as a metaphor for the Church of England leading people (sheep) astray was leaned into when the painting was exhibited at Paris’ Exhibition Universelle in 1855, and the painting’s name was changed to ‘Strayed Sheep’. This was a purely political move, masking the other meaning of the painting so as not to appear either overly patriotic or as if Britain felt like France was a threat to them. Hunt utilises many new techniques in the painting, using synthetic, prismatic paints to create the striking, saturated blue of the sea. This ingenuity can also be seen as a kind of ‘one-upmanship,’ a literal representation of the superior progression of British art: basically just a really advanced way of showing off.
By exploring 19th Century art from both countries it is possible to start to understand just how deep this competitiveness ran through the cultural veins of each country. Even the term ‘Avant Garde’ was originally a military one, a blatant nod to this secret competition.
Nougier and Koechlin’s famed Eiffel Tower (1887) is the perfect summary of this era of artistic one-upmanship. It was built as the entryway for the Paris World Fair in 1889 to celebrate 100 years since the French Revolution. The aim of the building was to reflect the imperial and industrial power of France as well as its historical and cultural links while also representing the modernisation of the nation (who knew it wasn’t just made for Emily in Paris- esque selfies?). The building was designed by engineers rather than architects, assembled using huge amounts of wrought iron held together with rivets. This industrial material became symbolic of the innovation of the country. The building’s namesake, Gustave Eiffel, was a viaduct engineer, and the building’s iconic lattice structure takes inspiration from his pylons in a celebration of scientific achievement. The monumental scale of the building standing at 330 metres ensured that it could be seen from the entire city, a physical and visual representation of French power. When unveiled, the Eiffel Tower was, in fact, the tallest building in the world. The creation of the Eiffel Tower seemingly sparked a trend for competitive tower building as a way to demonstrate power that is still very much alive today (see Trump Tower, London’s Shard or the Burj Khalifa in Dubai). One might say it’s a race to erect the largest phallic symbol in the world: taking competitive toxic masculinity to brand new heights (excuse the pun).
Although we might not always be aware that this kind of cultural combat is occurring in the moment, it’s ever present all over the globe. As conflict goes, it’s better to be armed with a paintbrush than a gun.
Romy Brill Allen is seventeen years old and lives in London, England. She is passionate about human rights, feminism, and equality and is convinced that it’s through open minded political debate that the world will change for the better. Outside of politics, public speaking and debate, she is very enthusiastic about being part of the NGP platform and she hopes to pursue a career in journalism or law.