The Art of Jacques-Louis David

1. The Art ofJacques-Louis David

2. 1 Self-Portrait1794oil on canvas32” x 25”Museé du Louvre • Many artists paint their “portrait of the artist as artist.” The tradition can be traced back to the 15th century, though it becomes more vogue in the 17th c. and beyond. • Q 1.1: Why do you think artists like this particular content for their self-portrait? • Q 1.2: Based on what you know of David’s (1748 - 1825) facial disfigurement, does it surprise you that his self-portrait appears thus?

3. 2 Antiochus and Stratonice1774oil on canvas47 1/4” x 61”École Nationale Supériere des Beaux-Arts It was with this painting that David, after five failed attempts leading to his total despondency, won the Prix de Rome. • Q 2.1: What story does the painting tell? • Q 2.2: How does the painting reveal David’s superior technical abilities, and does it do so in a pandering way? • Q 2.3: In your opinon, what is the greatest strength of this painting? What is its greatest weakness?

4. 3 Oath of the Horatii1784oil on canvas11’ x 14’Museé du Louvre • Q 3.1: What is the narrative of this painting? Why is this story so compelling? • Q 3.2: How would you describe David’s style in this painting? • Q 3.3: The composition of this painting is balanced. How does David achieve this? • Q 3.4: What response is this painting designed to elicit from its audience?

5. 4 The Oath of the Horatii (detail)

6. 5 Death of Socrates1787oil on canvas51” x 77.25”Museé du Louvre • Q 5.1: Who is Socrates? Why does he make an appropriate main character in this painting? • Q 5.2: What is/are the focal point(s) of this painting? Why are they significant? • Q 5.3: What virtues are being espoused by David in this painting? How does he achieve that? • Q 5.4: What effect does light play in telling the narrative of this painting?

7. 6 The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons1789oil on canvas127 1/4” x 166 1/4”Museé du Louvre • Q 6.1: Who is Brutus? Why does he make an appropriate main character in this painting? • Q 6.2: What is/are the focal point(s) of this painting? Why are they significant? • Q 6.3: What virtues are being espoused by David in this painting? How does he achieve that? • Q 6.4: What effect does light play in telling the narrative of this painting?

8. 7 The Lictors Delivering to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons (detail)

9. 8 The Lictors Delivering to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons (detail)

10. 9 The Oath of the Tennis Court1791pen and rown ink, brown wash with white highlights26” x 40”Musée National du Chateau de Versailles, Versailles, France Read a brief history of the Tennis Court Oath. • Q 9.1: What is the tone of David’s drawing? How does he achieve this effect?

11. Clergy (Second Estate) Robespierre[Justification on Use of Terror]

12. 10 Death of Marat1793oil on canvas65” x 50.5”Museés Royaux des Beaux-Arts de BelgiqueBaudeliare wrote of this painting: “This is the bread of the strong and triumph of spiritualism; as cruel as nature, this painting is redolent of the Ideal. […] There is, in this work, something at once tender and poignant; in the cold air of this room, on these cold walls, around this cold and funereal bathtub, a soul flutters […]” • Arguably one of the most important paintings in the history of art, David denies us a background. • Q 10.1: What is the effect of only this shadowed background? • Q 10.2: What details does David include to tell the story of the assassination of Marat? • Q 10.3: What response does this painting evoke from you? Is this the response you think David would have wanted you to have?

13. 11 The Sabine Women1796 - 99oil on canvas12’8” x 17’8”Museé du Louvre • The Sabine Women was displayed in David’s home where it could be seen for a fee, 1.8 francs per person. In its original setting, it was meant to be viewed in a mirror, thus allowing you, the audience, to appear in the painting. Q 11.1: What would the effect be of seeing oneself in this scene (just over the right shoulder of the central female figure? • Q 11.2: Why did David paint the men nude and the women in diaphanous clothing? • Q 11.3 What is the narrative of this painting?

14. 12 The Sabine Women (detail)

15. 13 The Sabine Women (detail)

16. 14 Bonaparte1798oil on canvas32” x 25.5”Museé du Louvre • Napoleon Bonaparte becomes the leader of the French Republic after which he crowns himself Emperor of the new French Empire. • Q 14.1: How does David paint Napoleon? What traits of personality seem evident in the portrait of Napoleon?

17. 15 Madame Recamier1800oil on canvas96” x 30”Museé du Louvre • Madame Recamier is a Parisian socialite who desperately wanted David to paint her portrait after his success with The Sabine Women. At this point, David is something of a celebrity himself. • Q 15.1: What deviations from Madame Recamier’s natural appearance does David make and why does he make them? • Q 15.2: From what era in history does Madame Recamier appear to be? • Q 15.3: What aspects of this portrait are scandalous?

18. 16 Madame Recamier (detail)

19. 17 Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of the Empress Josephine in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on 2 Dec 18041807oil on canvas 20’ x 32’ Museé du Louvre • Notice the scale of this painting. • Q 17.1: What are the challenges that David faced in painting this scene? • Q 17.2: What accuracies are presented, and what inaccuracies are presented in the scene? • Q 17.3: What is the moment that David, in an almost photographic fashion, capture? [See next slide (9) for detail.]

20. 18 Consecration (detail)

21. 19 General Bonaparte in His Study1812oil on canvas80” x 49”National Gallery, Washington, D.C. • Q 19.1: Compare this portrait of Bonaparte with the earlier, unfinished David portrait. In what ways does Napoleon appear different here?

22. Key Concepts • David is considered by art historians a “Neo-Classicist,” meaning he draws on the imagery, narratives, and styles of ancient Greece and Rome. • David’s Neo-Classicist style is seen in the “stoic” paintings (e.g. Oath of the Horatii, Death of Socrates) as well as the more expressive, though still quite severe, works (e.g. The Sabine Women, Death of Marat, Madame Recamier). • David’s art is art that very much follows the politics of his day–one might see him as an opportunist, as one sees him as “First Painter” of the Empire. • David is the beginning of the modern styles that will ultimately create the Modern styles of the 20th century, insofar as he denied the styles of the late Baroque and Rococo, despite his being a student of Boucher.