1818 HISTORICAL PICTURES BEST PORTRAYS HUBRIS

I think all apotheosis paintings are excellent examples of hubris. These paintings show rich, or venerated people, led by gods or angels into heaven where they will be given a god-like status (deification). It's a whole spectacle with dramatic looking people, kilometers of silk drapes, beautiful women,horses and Greek gods. It's hubris because gods tend to not raise humans to their own level.

Sometimes painters painted this deification because their rich patrons venerated their idols beyond reason. But the most fantastic cases of hubris is when painters painted this deification because their rich patron's idols were themselves.

Here we see Nelson, the British naval hero, taken to heaven (1818). The god Mars is holding him. Nelson was a vigorous defender of slavery. Gods usually make a balanced judgment about their creation so it seems a bit arrogant to presume god will turn a blind eye (as blind as Nelson's eye) to his bad side and only see his good side. It's even more arrogant to think he will ask Nelson: ‘Hey, do you want to be my coworker?’

Of course there are even more interesting paintings of an apotheosis: 

Napoleon I 

Napoleon III 

Voltaire 

Washington 

Imagine all these paintings really happened, we would have a whole bunch of gods in heaven now. I can imagine the chaos it would cause, especially with Voltaire questioning everybody's authority. 

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