1789, the Emblems of Reason

In this classic text on the 18th century and neoclassicism, Jean Starobinski pursues a subtle and brilliant meditation on the connections between art and revolution, comparing the style of the French Revolution as a political event to style in the contemporary visual arts. Rather than seeking a set of causal links between history and art, Starobinski finds ways to read the messages of both. Moving with graceful erudition over painting, architecture, music, philosophy, and political history, he enables us to see the art of David, Fuseli, Goya, Mozart, Boullee, Ledoux, and a host of others in a new perspective, as integral part of the events that changed the course of modern history. Jean Starobinski is a Professor Honoraire at the University of Geneva.