From the artist's life
David painted his murdered friend Marat dead in his bath; he was himself a revolutionary deputy who voted for the king's execution.
Source: Wikipedia / WikimediaNeoclassicism
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825) was the master of Neoclassicism and the artistic voice of the French Revolution and Napoleon. His austere, heroic canvases turned painting into political power.
David dominated French art for a generation, training a host of painters and defining the Neoclassical style across Europe.
- Defined Neoclassicism with austere, heroic history paintings.
- Served the Revolution and then Napoleon as a kind of state artist.
- Painted The Death of Marat and the grand Coronation of Napoleon.
Key works
Where to start
Complete list of key works
Works with a dedicated ArtAtlas page are highlighted in gold.
- The Death of MaratOn ArtAtlas
- The Oath of the HoratiiOn ArtAtlas
- The Death of SocratesListed for reference
- The Coronation of NapoleonListed for reference
- Napoleon Crossing the AlpsListed for reference
- The Intervention of the Sabine WomenListed for reference
- The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the TuileriesListed for reference
- Mars Being Disarmed by VenusListed for reference
- Portrait of Madame RécamierListed for reference
- The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His SonsListed for reference
- Erasistratus Discovering the Cause of Antiochus' DiseaseListed for reference
- Leonidas at ThermopylaeListed for reference
1793
The Death of Marat
The Death of Marat is a 1793 painting by Jacques-Louis David depicting the artist's friend and murdered French revolutionary leader, Jean-Paul Marat.
1784
The Oath of the Horatii
Oath of the Horatii is a large painting by the French artist Jacques-Louis David painted in 1784 and 1785 and now on display in the Louvre in Paris. The painting immediately became a huge success with critics and the public and remains one of the best-known paintings in the Neoclassical style.