Political idealism seldom creates magnificent art but the work of Jacques-Louis David is something exceptional. During the 1780s, he managed to summarize the principles of Neoclassicism into a series of brilliant and potent works of art that fueled to the ardent political mood of that era.
Death of a dear friend
After the revolution, David became engaged completely with the new regime and he joined the new government and elected for the king’s death. David’s political duties have somehow stifled his artistic activity. Although he had originally planned a number of oeuvres to celebrate the revolution, only one came to fruition. This was the Death of Marat (1793), the painter’s emotional and expressive tribute to his friend Jean Paul-Marat who was assassinated. Marat actively promoted the violent purges that followed the monarchy’s overthrow and eventual demise.
French Revolution as an inspiration
In the said painting, David shows Marat with the dignity and sensitivity of a martyred saint. One purpose of the painting is that it served as a memorial to Marat as well as a political statement for the dreadful incidences that the French Revolution brought upon history. He strived to show the victim as a political revolutionary sacrifice.
As a representation of the crucified Jesus
The position of the dead Marat is supposed to recall representations of the crucified Jesus, as in Bronzino’s Deposition of Christ (1549). The pose is very tragic and yet there is a haunting beauty to it that makes the viewer attracted to the painting. Even if the image is a portrayal of a gruesome death, this death mixed with peace and love, although the very nature of the assassination is violent and bloody.
Viewer’s association with other works of art
It can actually make the spectator recall art works of religious nature, especially those of Christ taken down from the cross or the depictions of famous saints who died in the name of Christ such as Saint Sebastian. His paintings can be comparable to the works of Canova, Delacroix, Gericault, Ingres, Powers and Prud’hon.
In a strange way, this painting is also reminiscent of the Grande Odalisque (1814) by Jean Auguste Domique Ingres. These paintings usually exude an aura of awe-inspiring horror and calmness to the spectator – as if making the viewer realize that a martyred death or dying for something you believe in is a wonderful and lovely matter.
Works Cited:
Charles, Victoria. 1000 Paintings of Genius. London: Sirocco, 2006.
Farthing, Stephen (ed.). Art: The Whole Story. London: Thames & Hudson, 2010.
The Art Book. London: Phaidon, 1994.
