Alexandre Cabanel: Fallen Angel and Academicism 

"the academy didn't like this painting because it was 'terribly executed' and 'too romantic'" that painting is one of the most beautiful things I've ever SEEN what

he was 24 years old when he painted the Fallen Angel, that's mind blowing

i fell in love with cabanel's fallen angel piece the first time i saw it, the attention to detail and the anatomy is amazing, the angel's expression and the history it stems from was definitely an addition to my love for it plus its so aesthetically pleasing. needless to say it really took my breath away.

To me it's always kinda looked like that frustrated feeling you would get as a young child when things didn't turn out the way you want, but you know you just simply can't do anything about it.

I feel like the emotion that’s portrayed the most in the painting Fallen Angel, is frustration

I think you summed this up quite well. It's unfortunate that so many 'academic' artists are no longer as well known as they once were, and while I reject any rigid notions of 'this is what art is, and nothing else'; I also understand the importance of craftsmanship, technique, training - but, above all, talent and creativity. I love Cabanel and Bourguereau, but I also love the Symbolists and the Expressionists. Art is whatever moves you - excites, saddens, pleases and especially, challenges.

The fallen angel may be my favourite piece of art out there, the expression on his face is so immersive, it sucks you into the painting and makes you feel for this angel, someone you have no connection to, but cabanel still makes you relate to him, makes him real for the time you're looking at him, its absolutely beautiful!!

The fact that the fallen angel is now one of the most famous painting is so great since it was rejected in Cabanel’s life time but is now more famous then some of the art works that were academically accepted back then.

You have introduced a world of art to me that I honestly would of never dove into without your videos. Keep up the great work!

Thanks for uploading this video! Cabanel’s Fallen Angel always reminds me of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in ROTS. They look alike and share similar subject matter.

Funny how the tables have turned, now schools impose the boring modern styles of the 20th century onto students and classical art is the insurgent. I guess people never learn.

i wouldn't say i'm into the fine arts much aside from admiring the mind boggling skill these painters have, but the Fallen Angel has always stuck to the back of my mind. the expression is so raw and human. rarely do i see the emotion of "so angry that you cry" depicted in any media, which to me this is depicting first and foremost. the fact that he half hides his face but doesn't use his wings to cover himself, or curl up into a more protected position, gives this such an energy of "i may have lost the battle, but i haven't lost the war". it seems to admit defeat in the moment while not being beaten down for good.

I think my favorite part about the piece Fallen Angel is how Cabanel used the expression, pose and imagery combine to tell a story that transcends time. Even if you don’t know the full biblical context, just knowing about fallen angels is enough and the painting does the rest. It masterfully displays all the layered emotions that can only come from a complex, deep personal history. It can play into the idea of the sympathetic villain because seeing the extreme pain and hurt of this character makes us understand why they became so dark. A trope that’s only become more popular since then. For example I see this and I immediately think of Anakin Skywalker. Partially because of the likeness, but I think the story Cabanel was trying to tell lines up well. The dark fallen paragon, who’s rejection by those who are supposed to be the “good guy” almost seems as evil as anything the angel might go on to do. It shows he understood the subject matter and told a story that reached from hundreds of years in his past and still connects with the stories we tell hundreds of years later

i wouldn't exactly say that the birth of venus is his most popular work because i swear to you if you show all of cabanel's work to a person, they'd go "oh, the fallen angel guy"

This brought tears to my eyes. Loved this video

Cabanel’s Birth of Venus is one of my favorites. Fallen Angel is also one that I’ve bookmarked mentally, I just love this style. It’s amazing to me that someone can come along, live their life, and capture images + feelings that I resonate w./enjoy, (even if not exact) and put them on a canvas.. for me to admire. Even if, hundreds, to thousands of years later. what a time to be alive.

I am a 17 yo dude who doesnt exactly care about the paintings of the old masters, they look as good to me as any other painting... But this? From the first moment my eyes fell on this, i felt something. Idk what it was that i felt, but it was something that resonated within me, and struck a little chord of wonder and fear... I like this painting.

I always enjoy art that feels both open and inviting - conceptually or stylistically - rather than closed and didactic. I think I’m probably not alone with that. There’s probably another tension in this painting which is challenging which is that the viewer is forced to empathise with Satan’s very human and relatable position. He is vulnerable and indignant. Seeing an icon of evil portrayed as something a little more grey, a little more akin to ourselves, is more challenging for me, than the style or technique. Great video, thoughts and considerations as always.

One of my favorite paintings! When I come to Montpellier to study, my friend here told me that this painting is at Musée Fabre which is in Montpellier! I was so glad when I heard about it, but due to COVID-19, I still can not visit the museum to see it with my eyes. I hope all these problems will end soon and we'll be able to visit museums again because we really need them. Thanks for the video!

I've seen many of these paintings many times online, but never knew who did them. Thanks for the great video and for putting the title and artist names.

I understand your point of view. It's clear that you are much into modern art then into classical, academic art. But I find it kinda ironic that people who say they like meaning, they like expression of ideas, sensibility, humanity in art, fail to apreciate such deep and beautiful concepts with a said "boring painting". The way they capture light, the beautiful machine that is our body, how we humans capture the world, how a range of different colors can create an impression of living flesh. You can't just "look" at things and sprinkle your concept and philosophys on top of that to make the audience feel something dramatic. You have to observe, you have to really pay attention to the world around you to be able to paint with such precision and technique. Be humble, and look around. Be humble and look at a hand for 10 hours do understand it's form, how the light slides trough it. And I am only talking about the more technical aspects. Of course it's sad that there was a time where academys would be so strict, but it has happened with modern art too. It's "cool" and it's "edgy" and "expensive" to make provocative, and fast artwork, and galleries love it. You can make more pieces in a shorter period, that's more money, and sell it at skyrocking prices because it's so "unique and artistic". Every art shcool around the globe will teach you to "paint like a kid", "do expressive work" and won't give you the tools to learn your craft, and have whatever voice you wanna have as a painter, isn't that strict too? Isn't that some form of authority? To deprive a whole generation from knowledge?

My first thought when I saw this painting was, oddly enough, Anakin Skywalker from Revenge of the Sith. He has the same emotions in his eyes, the sadness, the intense rage, the betrayal. To portray that so well in just a static pair of eyes is genius

The Fallen Angel radiates such emotion to me. I feel like if the academy was'nt so restrictive, we would see more works like the Dallen Angel fom Cabanel. He clearly had a great talent for expressing such vivid depiction of emotions. Like you already mentioned, the complexity in the angels face is astonishing.

This painting has always been one of my all-time favourites, but I had only ever seen it digitally and I never knew where it was being held. That was, until I moved to Montpellier and visited the Musee Fabre. I can still remember the moment like it was yesterday- I was walking from hall to hall, admiring each painting, until I walked into a room and the first thing I saw was the Fallen Angel. I had never rushed towards a painting like that ever in my life. I remember just standing in front of the work for minutes, drinking in every detail, in complete awe. I still get excited to see it whenever I visit the museum

Every time I see tat painting I just think “it’s over Anakin I have the high ground!” “YOU UNDERESTIMATE MY POWER”

As a teenager going through depression , when i first saw the fallen angel it brought tears to my eyes

Well It's quite the coincidence that I had to write a small essay on Cabanel's Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Condemned Prisoners for my exams this morning ! Also great video !

Something I really really love about this painting is his flexed arms. Its something young kids do when they’re throwing a tantrum - they clench their arms and throw them around. Or it could be trying to release that anger or holding himself back from lashing out or throwing a tantrum. It makes the subject of the painting seem all the more innocent and young as they utilise these childish ways of calming themselves down, and it makes us feel sorry for them as it maybe suggest that they were just too young to know what they did wrong to result in their banishment

I on the other hand am not a very big fan of modern art, my personal opinion is that the pendulum swung a bit too far back after the academy got shafted. I agree that they were far too rigid and I have nothing against the artists or anything, but a romantic era or even impressionist, or heck even a good ass roman statue does FAR more for me than any picasso or Dali or really any of them. I'm not saying oh my arts better than yours, no, there's a big market of big thinkers out there for modern art, and it deserves to exist, and hell I'm glad you like it. It just does next to nothing for me. My mother is an artist, and her favorite artist is Claude Monet. I do love Monet, I think some of his art is really brearthtaking. When we went to an art museum and she was able to see one of her favorite Monet pieces she was astounded, but not far away I saw a John Martin painting. Man that really changed me. Just goes to show you, not all art is for everyone. If I had to criticize one thing about the current state of art, it's that I wish it was more of an even spread than galleries exclusively full of this super modern stuff. If I could see a Picasso level, Martin level, Monet level and even more modern art piece all in the same room that would be great. Seeing one or the other is what makes me lose faith in the current state of art, even if just a little. Again, everyone is free to love the art they love, I encourage loving the art you love fully, I just feel like the art I MYSELF love has had it's time pass. And that makes me just a little sad.

2:59 The Execution of Lady Jane Grey has got to be one of the most 4k looking paintings I have ever seen! It looks like a picture taken by a digital camera. That said, I am obsessed with the Fallen Angel painting and wanted to know more about the artist. Something about the eyes, the emotions and how he was able to capture it so well pulled me in the second my eyes landed on the art.

I think if I saw this in real life I’d cry, it’s breathtaking.

i’m so happy i found this channel in 2020. it reinvigorated my love of art. another fantastic vid as always, hope to see so much more in 2021

I've had the honour of seen this painting on the Montpellier museum 2 years ago, and as much as I was moved and touched by paintings "back then", these great works can only make one want to go there again and again, stare at every inch of the piece and never leave. It's weird to always feel you could have appreciated more, looked at it for just one more minute. These are the works that you can be sure are timeless. The painting next to it on the museum, The Death of Moses, for me, is even more beautiful.

I'm not really a painting specialist but The Fallen Angel is magnificient art. Those eyes contain everything. Incredible work!

Bro i just came across your channel half an hour ago and it's one of my favorites now , dont ever stop , you deserve so much more recognition

his rebellion against the academy, knowing that the fallen angel piece wouldn't be favored well, only shows me a painter that believed so heavily in his talents that he can follow both the norms and standards of the academy but also commit to his own narrative of self expression....that's beautiful to me, he just became my favorite painter!!

The way people exert creativity within constraints - or even constraints giving birth to creativity - has been one of the most inspiring & encouraging aspects of art history for me. (Like Matisse making cutouts as a response to being confined to a wheelchair.) To be honest, I used to find stuff like Renaissance art boring, but started to educate myself about art styles/movements like Mannerism and Baroque where people, while conforming to boundaries to some degree, transgress and break rules - because we’re humans and it’s in our nature

I think the story behind the Fallen Angel is really simple. And the painting is really simple, too. But nothing beats that expression in the eyes. It's that powerful; it pushes the piece into value for me all on its own.

the last sentences gave me chills to the bone, you did such a nice job wording how I felt about the under appreciation of his paintings, great work.❤️

about a week ago, i got The Fallen Angel tattooed on my back. such a beautiful painting with so much emotion.

These videos are stunning and truly deserve more shine. Please keep up all of your hard work

Only recently did I discover this painting exists, and I absolutely fell in love with it... Those. Damn. Eyes.

Goodness, I’ve never seen this painting before but it just shows me a new portal into the art world. The eyes are just so well done. The anger in his eyes. Not anger at someone else, but anger at himself. Those angry tears of self hatred, and overall spite, really stand out. It’s as though he feels upset at the situation itself, and how he got himself here. Yet, there is nothing he can do about it, so he cries.

I am so grateful for the modern art movement and the endless range of subject, style, and creativity that was liberated for the art world from it. However, I think there’s a tragedy lost in the death of Academicism. We went from it being everything that is art to basically not being a part of it. I took several art electives during my college major, and not one gave the time of day to it. To go and learn how to master the brush in the way pre-modern artists had to feels like a near entirely self-guided and almost impossible endeavor. I’m glad with where art is now, but just wish Academicism didn’t have to die to get us there.

very instructive... having majored in French, I along w/ my classmates always heaved a collective ho-hum whenever l'Academie was brought up. you've succeeded in drawing a very insightful point that lifts the mundane to a place of admiration for the hard-fought exceptionalism among some of them.

Oh, thank you for this amazing video! I have never heard about Cabanel before, and I absolutely love it - the Fallen Angel and the Birth of Venus as well. I will for sure search for more information and I am curious to see more of your videos. Thank you once again!

The most beautiful painting I've ever seen

I remember seeing this piece around this time in 2020, it haunted me, it got into my brain and all I could think of was that tear in that furious face. I ended up recreating it as practice when I started to get into oil paintings for the first time, I spent two months studying the painting as best as I could, and every time I got more in love with it... I think I spent two weeks alone trying to recreate the feeling on the face. I've done more oil paintings since then, but this one is still my favorite.

Thanks for an illuminating video on this fascinating corner of Art History. Informative & enjoyable. Agree that "Fallen Angel" is a stand-out piece.

I randomly stumbled upon this video on Twitter but I really loved the style of it, it was really simple yet interesting, I found myself interested in many paintings showed in the video. Looks like I'll be coming back to your channel often.

restriction and creativity can absolutely go together. Great video!

For years I saw this painting on the internet and always had a thing for it. Much to my surprise, after watching your video I decide to look it up where it was currently exposed and happens to be on my city! Thanks so much for showing some light to this absolute masterpiece.

Absolutely Luved this - you’re so informative and have enjoyed all your information on famous or not so well known artists thankmuou

Great video. I just discovered this painting/Cabanel's work and I love it so I'm looking to learn more about him, so this was so informative. Will definitely check out your other videos

Great video! The salons are most famous these days for the work their rejection inspired in the Impressionists, but the academy's training sure did help create some wonderful art on purpose as well, even if it was more limited in scope.

i KNEW I saw the Birth of Venus somewhere. And then it hit me, it was part of a puzzle in the Resident Evil remake😱

I absolutely love this painting- was introduced to it bc people were redrawing the pose he was in, it's so unbelievably good.

What a beautiful piece, how could anyone reject the raw emotion in those eyes

I appreciate both modern and academic artist. Thank you for educating me

I just stumbled upon this channel a few days ago, it’s a real hidden gem. Keep up the good work! I hope you get the recognition you deserve!!

Your videos really help me sleep

Beautifully detailed and explained video about Alexandre Cabanel ❤️❤️

The Canvas: MOVING!

when you said he was 13 when he made that self portrait i literally yelled “WHAT?!” my dad had to come check on me lol

Beautifully said. Important to consider. Thank you.

thank you so much for this precious genre,

Your conclusion is very well put

i have been obsessed over this piece since the first time i saw it, i adore it so much.

didn't truly understand how much i loved and appreciated Cabanel's work until i watched this video. man he was astonishing

My mother bought a book about Bouguereau's work from the DIA, Detroit Institute of Art's, giftshop. He has been one of my favourite artists ever since. I remember going to the DIA myself back in college when my campus was just across the street, and I sat at the Nut Gatherer's painting of his for maybe 30 minutes straight. At least two different tour groups came and went as I just stared at every detail.

i found your videos by chance and i love them , thank you for great videos and effort you put! I wish you had many more subscribers

I love this painting. I never forget how intense I feel upon seeing the eye. And also the body structure is so accurate especially with the angle of the arms.

Genuinely one of the most beautiful pieces of art ever. It's been a favorite of mine for years

Amazing video about one of my favourite artists!

This painting is gorgeous. I'm in love with it.

Great painting, the first time I saw that face it brought tears to my eyes and felt a really strange emotion. Only music has made me feel that way, never thought a painting could do it.

I've probably never commented on a youtube video, but I absolutely love your channel!

This exploration was wonderful!

Ever since the almighty algorithm landed this channel on my feed, I've been exposed to the most fascinating pieces of art I could imagine. Even pieces I'm familiar with manage to surprise me in this space. Excellent work, and thank you for this series!

Thanks for this video🙌🏻. Test tomorrow 🙏🏻

I love this channel already

Yeah I agree. This painting stuck with me the first time i saw it. Freedom of expression is important, but in my opinion a great artist and make something great regardless of limitations.

this is one of my favorite paintings thanks for this video

Thank you! When your channel first showed up in my feed, I thought, "Why would YT think I want to watch a snob talk about snobs?" Soooo mistakenly prejudiced on my part. I can't stop listening to your mind-blowing insights into the painting world, and teaching me how to appreciate it. My mom is a painter. I like that she focuses on technical skill and has no patience with total freedom. Your sympathetic videos on Rockwell gave voice to my overall criticism of the art world. But this video right here... Absolutely perfect. It has the power to bridge the divide between old fuddy duddies like me an the younger generations.

I love how I just discovered this feed while I'm super busy. Looks like I'm binge watching tonight

Merci pour cette merveilleuse vidéo , un commentaire pour le référencement

True creativity is not thinking outside the box, it is the thinking within a box of one's own design... in rejecting the learned or academic style of art, we rejected the discipline that is required for quality of craftsmanship. What we have done in modern art is to have enslaved ourselves to ingenuity, and no longer is quality of work, expression, technique acceptable, but rather only what is "expressive" and "inventive" and "new" which is very sad for two reasons. modern art has actually made art *less* accessible for people, as for both creators and consumers of art, the standard tropes, techniques, and constants are utterly rejected, meaning that unless you create something that no one has ever seen before, you are not interesting and not published. This results in artists engaging in a never ending pissing contest of outrage, to the point where signing your name on a latrine, or placing a crucifix in a jar off urine is considered of equal or greater merit for display and patronage than a thousand academic masters. no more can one of perhaps average skill but great dedication "do the work and practice long and hard" and be an artist... only those willing to do something outrageous or new are worthy... we built an aesthetic on destroying something rather than creating somthing... in the end the academics gave a standard to create by, perhaps overly rigid, but a standard of creation... but the modernists gave us only chaos and hatred of any restriction, nothing was deemed worthy unless it subverted or destroyed the old system of oppression and led us to total freedom from anyone but ourselves... and then when we killed the academy... we had no one left to kill but ourselves... and so we did. to our great demise... In the end, we fecked ourselves... what is more oppressive than the Master's of the Academy to free expression? The fickle and constantly shifting idol of popular concession and opinion... If you set the world on fire to give it light, what will you do when you have nothing left to burn? Where is beauty?

It'd almost like that teardrop is quivering, slowly decending

absolutely amazing

Wow, really enjoying this channel -- so glad i came across it! You've got a new subscriber. Can't wait to see more!

I'm in love with these videos!!!

I love this painting. It's my screensaver so I get to look upon it all the time

Great video! Really informative. Also I subscribed because of this video. It's a beautiful piece of art. You're right about how the artists, though they were restrained by the rules of the Salon, put out some really beautiful art. Now if only I could find an art print or something of it online. From a non-sketchy site.

You and Great Art Explained are amazing.

This beautiful painting of the Fallen Angel is in my home town, i saw it one day, without knowing it was in the museum i was visiting!

Thanks for the video on AC. It is nice to hear an other pov, (not necessarily nouveau, as there is no parthenogenesis left, but) a fresh voice emerging, discovering old pieces of fine(r) art, fragile canvasses and such things. Art appreciation is not a fashion to be copied or a trend to follow like sheep do, but an elevating demanding habit, so tough to acquire.

as an art history major, the movement i spent the most time studying and analyzing was modernism, but academicism was always visually my favorite and a huge guilty pleasure. what you said in the defense of academicism chapter is exactly why i enjoy it!! and i also find it funny that these people tried so hard to pass off their art of sexy ladies as "academic" just because they're supposed to depict venus or whatever ((mythological, therefore an academic subject!!!))

i'm reminded of the often quoted "limitations foster creativity", there is a lot to be said for having limits sometimes

Había visto esa pintura, más no sabía el autor. Esa mirada generalmente la ponen los niños cuando lloran de impotencia.

this was the most interesting video, thank you!