"Young Girls Dancing Around an Obelisk" is an oil painting on canvas by Hubert Robert completed in 1798 at Paris. The work describes a festival occurring somewhere in Egypt during the time when the work was produced. A group of ladies are dancing around a broken Obelisk. Standing halfway up the monument, three young men are accompanying them by playing music. On the bottom of the painting, a woman with four children is pointing to the fallen parts of the Obelisk and the face of a Pharaoh which is broken in half. At the left side, there are two adults gossiping with a younger person lying on a distorted statue of a Pharaoh. In addition, three Pyramids and a huge crowd of people compose the background.
Composition.
All the monuments are in a vertical position to give viewers the impression of hugeness and height, coupled with a sense of solitude. Contrasting with those solid figures, all the people are gathering in circles, which gives a harmonious and joyful tone to the painting. Although there are many actions going on in the painting, the woman who points at the broken parts of the monuments forms a triangle with the Obelisk in the center, keeping viewers focused on the main theme of "Young Girls Dancing Around an Obelisk". .
Techniques and Execution.
The painting is to show the contrast between two different generations. The solid figures of the Obelisk, the Pharaoh and the Pyramids were put in the painting to represent the most powerful period of ancient Greek society. On the other hand, the people are painted in brighter and lighter colors with softer movements and less sense of solitude. All these show a totally different generation of people less powerful, but more in harmony and interacting among themselves. .
Interpretation.
The painting shows a belief that the younger generation will be empowered by the previous generation. The Obelisk symbolizes the authority and the power of the previous generations; it is also a phallic symbol for fertility rites.