Hw sample

Death of Marat, 1794

NeoClassicism
Jacques Louis-David (1748-1825)
Death of Marat, 65” x 50”, oil paint

Observable Information
Heroic masculinity in Death with allusions to Christian martyrdom from Michelangelo’s Pieta ( a secular religion)
Clarity of Line, Polished Finish and isolated color
Figure isolated by shallow space and directed light source
Figure shown in place of assassination (bath) with tools of the assassin (letter, knife)
Setting places Marat in midst of the “People’s Work” answering petitions with pen in hand referring to his role as journalist of the Revolution
Direct mention of “A Marat” on desk has funerary, memorial references

Historical/Cultural Context
Virtue of moral rectitude associated with physical clarity and social reform – Marat was an inflammatory journalist and purveyor of strict dogma with the Jacobin faction of the French Revolution
“a moving testimony to what can be achieved when an artist’s political convictions are directly manifested in his work". – creating a secular martyr in pursuit of the Revolutions goals.
Helps establish David’s preeminence as artist/visual spokesman for the Revolution

Baudelaire, wrote in 1846: "The drama is here, vivid in its pitiful horror. This painting is David's masterpiece and one of the great curiosities of modern art because, by a strange feat, it has nothing trivial or vile. What is most surprising in this very unusual visual poem is that it was painted very quickly. When one thinks of the beauty of the lines, this quickness is bewildering. This is food for the strong, the triumph of spiritualism. This painting is as cruel as nature but it has the fragrance of ideals. Where is the ugliness that hallowed Death erased so quickly with the tip of his wing? Now Marat can challenge Apollo. He has been kissed by the loving lips of Death and he rests in the peace of his metamorphosis. This work contains something both poignant and tender; a soul is flying in the cold air of this room, on these cold walls, around this cold funerary tub."

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Hw sample

by bassmanb on Mar 16, 2011

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