Following the paradigms of the historical painting form, David uses the acts of Classical Antiquity not only as a moral orientation, but as a political position and practical guiding in the then emerging revolution in France. The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons (1789 ) is an example of the republican feature par excellence and, therefore, of revolutionary action in the monarchy’s context. After the Revolution, David painted The Death of Marat (1793), a work in which, using the form of historical painting, portrays a character and a theme of contemporary history. Finally, France, now republican, was worthy of representation in a historical painting.
Jacques-Louis David; Rome; French Revolution; Painting
