The painter Jean-August-Dominique Angel used to be a primitive painter, but soon, his great attention to contours and lines became one of the symbols of his neoclassical style. Angel entered David's studio in 1797 and won the Rome prize in 180 1 year, but he didn't get the prize until 1806 because of the Napoleonic Wars. Before going to Italy, the French Legislative Assembly entrusted him to create a portrait of Napoleon on the throne. He exhibited this painting in the salon of 1806, but it was immediately severely criticized by people and even Napoleon himself. Angel's neoclassical elements are characterized by serious Davidian planarization, compression of space and emphasis on lines or outlines, but his borders are clearer and more vivid, as if he had an independent life. The white border of Napoleon's robes is a good example.

But from then on, Angel no longer imitated David and the Primitive School, but began his own romanticism. However, this move did not obliterate the weight of neoclassicism in his works, nor could it deny the fact that he was recognized as the great standard-bearer of neoclassicism in the first half of19th century. Angel filled every inch of the canvas of Napoleon's portrait with brilliance, and gold, precious stones, mink, marble, carpets and rare items could be seen everywhere. Napoleon held the golden scepter of Charlemagne in one hand and the image of a medieval French dental stick in the other, which was a symbol of the justice of the king. These two events are proof of Napoleon's own royal origin. The exquisite gilded throne is like the Roman Empire, and the curved backrest forms a halo on the emperor's head. At that time, it was not difficult for the audience to find that this was an imitation of the holy father in the Ghent altar screen painting of the Van Ike brothers. This altar painting was placed in the Napoleon Museum in the Louvre, which is one of Napoleon's great trophies. Angel even asked Napoleon to pose as God in Van Eyck's paintings, combined with the iconic positive posture, suggesting that Napoleon also had the same quality, or at least was recognized by God. Napoleon in Angel's works is also similar to Zeus in Anti-aircraft Artillery, which also strengthens the deification effect of the works.

Angel used this extraordinary portrait to present an indifferent and extraordinary Napoleon, but his exotic and romantic content must have aroused the strong interest of the audience in 1806 salon, and even made them feel awe. Although Angel likes to use rigorous brushwork and solid, cold surface instead of strong color forms, he is still a great color master. In "The Portrait of Napoleon on the Throne", the colors and objects he used are commensurate with the magnificence, which has the gem-like characteristics of the brilliant oil painting of the Van Ike brothers. In capturing all kinds of textures, their fidelity is basically the same. Angel is very interested in the reconciliation of complex relations between high saturation colors, and also pays attention to the balance between various complex design elements in composition.

182 1 year, Angel was entrusted to paint a huge painting "The Oath of Louis XIII" for the cathedral in his hometown of Montaubin. This painting has brought fundamental changes to Angel's life. He was living in Florence, penniless, but for this painting, I'm afraid he would have been forgotten. At the salon of 1824, Anger exhibited this work, which aroused warm comments and agreed that he was the savior of the classical tradition, and was very popular from then on. Because Napoleon finally fell in 18 15, David who was appointed as an imperial painter in 180 1 was exiled to Brussels. At that time, the careers of all his students were stagnant and replaced by a new generation of romantic artists with graffiti style. Thus, Angel was tacitly regarded as the protector of classicism, the defender of line over color, the "strong tradition of great art" and the savior of ideal beauty, which enabled him to surpass the unrestrained emotionalism of romantics. 1825, the angel entered the French Academy. Although this was a place he despised, he soon became the dean. Angel was also awarded the French Medal of Honor. His studio has also become the first choice for aspiring young historical painters.

Because historical painting occupies the highest position in the college, Angel defines himself as a historical painter, but his strength is portrait painting, especially female portrait. His "Portrait of Lady Ann Mottaser" written in 1856 is a good example. This work was made on 1844. In the following 12 years, the angel, the protector of ideal beauty, turned the wife of a rich banker into a perfect classical image, a goddess on earth. He gave her smooth and delicate skin, graceful and curved shoulders, arms and hands, and a Raphael face. Robes, jewels and peacock hair fans decorated with intricate rose patterns are also used as decorations, and there is a mirror with a gold-plated frame behind her. Smooth pigment surface, accurate description, complex composition and the harmony between rich colors make her more perfect. Moataser's posture can be reminiscent of various classical prototypes, while her meditation posture with her hands supporting her head is derived from Heck Lagneux's ancient Roman murals. The silhouette in the mirror has obviously changed shape, and the taste of ancient Greece in this work is obvious; At the same time, it also casts a strange psychological veil on the work, strengthens the introspective meaning of the characters' gestures, infects the picture with a mysterious atmosphere, and turns the realistic entity of Mouat Tesser's physical environment into the spiritual embodiment of beauty. Although the style is obviously neoclassical, this mysterious atmosphere makes this painting very romantic.