EPTJacques-Louis David (1748-1825)
Bio
Jacques-Louis David was an only child, born 30 August 1748 in Paris. His parents, Marie and Louis came from a wealthy business class (Interior design). His Father was killed in a duel when David was only nine, and his relationship with his Mother was not close. David spent a lot of time with his Aunt's family, the Burons. David was apprenticed at the age of fifteen to Boucher, where he learned a great deal about studio organization. From this beginning, he analyzed the strengths and weaknesses in the apprenticeship system in France and came up with his own ways to improve it, and to make it more democratic. For example, he found the requirement to know Latin to be useless.
David won the Prix de Rome (prestigeous art prize where you got sent to Rome to study). The minimum was a three year commitment, but David stayed for six, between 1775 and 1781. There, he established a close relationship to Joseph Marie Vien (171-1809) who was a teacher, neoclassical painter, and director of the French academy in Rome. David observed the Italian masterpieces and the ruins of ancient Rome. There, he also met Raphael Mengs (1728–1779) who introduced David to the theories of art historian JJ Winckelmann (1717–1768). Winckelmann looked at the Greeks as models and discusses the "classical revival" which was beginning to become prevalent as a reaction against Rococo. Winckelmann headed many excavations and was interested in the Archaeology of such sites as Pompeii and Herculaneum. Winckelmann's writings are key to understanding the modern European discovery of ancient, and sometimes idealized Greece, neoclassicism, and the doctrine of art as imitation. When David returned to Paris, he submitted paintings to the Academy, two of which were selected to be shown at the Salon of 1781. He was then granted lodging in the Louvre by the King. It was here that David was asked to marry Marguerite Charlotte deCoeur, by her father. This marriage brought him wealth, and four children.
David was a firm believer in the French Revolution, of which Neoclacissism was the official style. In 1789, he was comissioned to paint the Oath of the Tennis Court. (Timeline notes: Storming of the Bastille 14 July 1789 and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen).David was comissioned by the Government to paint the story of "Horace defended by his Father" which he decided was better suited to be painted in Rome. David has hoped to become the Director of the French Academy in Rome, but was turned down because he was too young.
David returned to France where he began to create works symbolic to the revolution. He was elected as a debute in the new French Republic, and voted for the death of King Louis XVI. 1799 Napoleon (I) Bonaparte assumed power of france, and became first consul, emulating the history of Rome. David became the official court painter of the regime and official portrait painter of Napoleon. After the fall of Robespierre, David was arrested and imprisoned. David spent over a year in jail, was released in 1795. He then had to manage the loss of prestige, income and property and had difficulty regaining his stature as an artist. He separated from his wife. She took their 2 girls, and David took the boys. His Wife's social status put her in line to be a Monarchist but still she visited him in jail frequently. Later, they remarried.
David self-exiled to Brussles, where he later died when he was struck by a carriage while leaving a theatre. His body was not allowed to return to France for burial so he was buried at Evere Cemetery, Brussels, while his heart was buried at Père Lachaise, Paris.
![[image loading]](http://www.friloux-art.com/tl/art/Horatii.jpg)
Oath of the Horatii 1784-5
11 x 14 '
Louvre
The painting was first shown at the French Academy in Rome, August 1785. The painting was more than double the minimum size requirement for the show, and David felt that the larger he made the painting, the likelier it would be hung very high and people would look up at it. The canvas was removed from the stretcher and rolled so that it could be hand-delivered to the salon.
The painting is a radical departure from the traditional style of painting (return to Classicism (ie. NEOCLASSICISM)). The painting has a shallow perspective space. There also exists a simplification of the space so the story is easy to understand, and the painting is clear and straightforward so to be read immediately. David places great emphasis on the scale (monumentality) and the pairing down of formal language for quick read. Originally, where the light shines in, there was supposed to be a staircase, but David omits this to make the space appear flatter, more like a stage (links back to the original stage play) as well it avoids the symbolic meaning of a staircase (escape, transcendance, making your way up, or being above something). In fact, the arches he created don't make architectural sense but are framing devices to 'set the stage'. The painting is organised into groups of threes, a strong and pleasing composition (three arches, three groups of people (left, middle right, three sons, three women, three swords, and each group makes a triangle (the brothers make a triangle, the father makes a triangle, and the women make a triangle). Interesting note: two of the swords are curved while one is straight, foreshadowing that only one brother would survive the encounter.
Jean Germain Drouais 1763-1788 won the Prix de Rome and became David's apprentice. The Jury made an exception for him, as he was only 21. There is an element of collaboration as Drouais worked in some of the figures, and details. In Feb 1788 Drouais died in Rome at age 25. At that time, David fell into a severe depression, linked to his ambitiousness and his relationship with Drouais.
The story being told is that of the stody of Horus (from the play by Corneille). The painting describes a dramatic narrative. What is being portrayed, is the Oath being sworn by the three champion brothers of early Rome (Horatii family), about to settle a dispute with Alba. They swear they will fight to the death of triumph over their three cousins (Curiatii family). The outstretched arms, pledging their lives to patriotic duty lends to the highest virtues, while the women lie around languidly weeping and being utterly useless. Similarly note, the younger daughter hides her face in her nanny’s dress as the son refuses to have his eyes shielded.
David paints quite a bit of Napoleon pictures, and I absolutely love the one of Napoleon crossing the Alps. :p 
