Exploration Document Draft
Taylor Heger
Southern New Hampshire University
HUM200: Applied Humanities
Joshua Loman
March 26, 2023
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Exploration Document Draft
Cultural Artifacts
The Oath of the Horatii is a painting created by the French artist Jacques-Louis David in
1784. It illustrates a setting from ancient Roman history, in which the three Horatii brothers are
shown swearing an oath of allegiance to Rome. The painting also demonstrates the political and
social matters of its time period, as it was constructed shortly before the French Revolution.
The Rite of Spring is a ballet and instrumental work orchestrated by Russian composer
Igor Stravinsky, which debuted in Paris in 1913. The ballet is based upon a Russian folktale that
tells the fable of agnostic ceremonial sacrifice of a young girl to the god of spring. The Rite of
Spring is a prime example of the modernist movement, which desired to dispute and annul
conventional artistic practices.
Common Theme
The common theme between the two works is sacrifice. In the Oath of the Horatii, the
three brothers are sacrificing themselves for the good of their country, and , theThe Rite of Spring
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young woman is sacrificing herself to the god of spring. Both works explore the idea of what it
means to sacrifice oneself for a greater good.
