David’s first ever French Revolution painting was the Oath of the Horatii. David created this painting in 1785, just 4 years before the Revolution. During this time period, there was a tremendous amount of unease with the monarchy, especially with the aristocracy. The royal members of France were living a very luxury life while the rest of the nation is bankrupt. The idea of willingness to sacrifice oneself in this painting was very important in the political movement at that time. There are more paintings by David representing the same idea during the French Revolution. One of them is the “Lictors Returning to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons”. David created this painting during the first year of the Revolution, 1789. This painting also has a very similar story to the Oath of the Horatii. Brutus has to lead a revolution against the king and when he found out that his sons have betrayed him in attempting to restore the monarchy Brutus was trying to destroy. So Brutus sentenced his own family to death and put the country above his own emotional feelings. This idea of self-sacrifice in the painting furthered confirmed the people of France is willing to sacrifice their own lives in order to bring down the monarchy. The most famous painting by David during the Revolution was undoubted “The Death of Marat”. In order to understand the significance of this painting, we need to take look at the timeline of the Revolution. In 1792, the monarchy was abolished and France became a republic and in 1793, the King was executed and Marat was murdered. This painting “The Death of Marat” was painted the same year Marat was murdered. This painting portrayed Marat like a heroic figure and the pose of Marat was very similar to the Christ in the painting “The Entombment of Christ”. David wanted to tell us how Marat has lived up to the standard of the Revolution with the plain background and no elaborate furniture. During the revolution, David was a very active revolution supporter. He was a member of the Jacobin group during the early years of the Revolution and he produced many artworks that represented the heroic figures of the revolutionary people. When the first ever National Convention held it's meeting, David was sitting next to his friends Robespierre and Marat. David also voted for the execution of King Louis XVI and causing his royalist wife to divorce him. David also directly contributed to the Reign of Terror during the Revolution. Robespierre used much propaganda painted by David to further publicize the republic. When Robespierre was arrested and guillotined, David was arrested but later on, he became the first painter for Napoleon. David admired Napoleon the first time they have met. After Napoleon's coup was successful, David depicted the coronation of Napoleon and Napoleon cross the Alps. David, later on, painted many artworks for the Empress and Napoleon’s sister. Even though David was one of the most active revolutionaries during the Revolution, he still abandoned his value towards monarchy and devoted himself for King Napoleon. David voted for the execution of King Louis XVI, but he worked for Napoleon just as the Revolution has ended. It is very difficult to determine if David is a patriot or a political mercenary and it is very hard to look at the painting “The Death of Marat” and not say David is convinced of the ideas of the revolution. I personally believe David is a realist, not a political mercenary. David was forced to paint for Napoleon due to the end of the Revolution and David knows his role in the Revolution will lead to his death if he does not seek for a new master to follow. Luckily, he met Napoleon and became very successful by painting for him. In the history of artists, many painters were forced by life to paint for something they do not believe. But in the case of David, he believed in the Revolution but in order to live he chose to abandon his values of the Revolution.on. Revolution. In the end, it is up to you to determine if David is this person who really believed in the values of the Revolution or he is a political mercenary that follows where the wind leads him. |
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