Page 115 - Žagar, Igor Ž. 2021. Four Critical Essays on Argumentation. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 115
perception, infer ence, and understanding in visual argumentation (and beyond)
connecting P and C should not be straightforward, but bent, curved or bro-
ken in different ways and on different places, indicating different non-line-
ar ways to reach the conclusion.
About Marat’a death
The claims
Leo Groarke’s interpretation of Jacques-Louis David’ painting La Mort de
Marat (IF 18/2-3, 1996) was often praised (but without giving any concrete
arguments for this praise) as ‘arguing convincingly’ for the argumentative
potential or argumentativity of David’s painting presumably represent-
ing Marat as a dying Christ. Leo Groarke himself speaks more cautious-
ly of ‘the way in which argumentative analysis can illuminate a work of
visual art’ (119); according to him, it is ‘the interpretation, not the work of
art itself’.
But, how does Groarke proceed?
After a series of quotes and references from art history (which is an im-
portant fact for his argumentation as well as for my counter-argumenta-
tion), Groarke first comes to his (intermediate) claim:
We might easily understand the message of David’s painting as
the argument: ‘Marat was a great martyr. You should, therefore,
strive to be like him (and support the revolution).’ There is some-
thing to this analysis, but a fully satisfactory account of Marat
must better recognize the painting’s visual and political context
[sic!], which are evident in the number of details. Above all else,
it is important to recognize that its style and composition compare
Marat to Christ [sic!]. This is in keeping with hymns and rumours
of the day [sic!], which celebrated this comparison (Marat’s heart
was, for example, treated as a relic and claimed to resemble Christ’s
[sic!]). (Groarke ibid.: 120)
If we sum up Groarke’s analysis so far, in order to recognize the pre-
sumed resemblance between (the depiction of) dying Christ and (the de-
piction of) dying Marat, the observer is supposed to know about:
- painting’s visual and political context
- style and composition
- hymns and rumours (of those days = Marat’s days = days of
French revolution)
115
connecting P and C should not be straightforward, but bent, curved or bro-
ken in different ways and on different places, indicating different non-line-
ar ways to reach the conclusion.
About Marat’a death
The claims
Leo Groarke’s interpretation of Jacques-Louis David’ painting La Mort de
Marat (IF 18/2-3, 1996) was often praised (but without giving any concrete
arguments for this praise) as ‘arguing convincingly’ for the argumentative
potential or argumentativity of David’s painting presumably represent-
ing Marat as a dying Christ. Leo Groarke himself speaks more cautious-
ly of ‘the way in which argumentative analysis can illuminate a work of
visual art’ (119); according to him, it is ‘the interpretation, not the work of
art itself’.
But, how does Groarke proceed?
After a series of quotes and references from art history (which is an im-
portant fact for his argumentation as well as for my counter-argumenta-
tion), Groarke first comes to his (intermediate) claim:
We might easily understand the message of David’s painting as
the argument: ‘Marat was a great martyr. You should, therefore,
strive to be like him (and support the revolution).’ There is some-
thing to this analysis, but a fully satisfactory account of Marat
must better recognize the painting’s visual and political context
[sic!], which are evident in the number of details. Above all else,
it is important to recognize that its style and composition compare
Marat to Christ [sic!]. This is in keeping with hymns and rumours
of the day [sic!], which celebrated this comparison (Marat’s heart
was, for example, treated as a relic and claimed to resemble Christ’s
[sic!]). (Groarke ibid.: 120)
If we sum up Groarke’s analysis so far, in order to recognize the pre-
sumed resemblance between (the depiction of) dying Christ and (the de-
piction of) dying Marat, the observer is supposed to know about:
- painting’s visual and political context
- style and composition
- hymns and rumours (of those days = Marat’s days = days of
French revolution)
115
