One of French neoclassicism’s leading lights, Jacques-Louis David started out in Joseph-Marie Vien’s studio and went on to be awarded the Prix de Rome in 1774. Elected to the Royal Academy in 1784, he glorified the French Revolution’s martyrs in such works as “The Death of Marat” and “The Death of Young Bara”, and was imprisoned after the fall of Robespierre. At Bonaparte’s request, he painted “The Consecration of the Emperor”, a masterpiece of historical painting now on exhibition at the Louvre Museum. With the return of the Bourbons, David had to go into exile and ended his days in Belgium.
One of French neoclassicism’s leading lights, Jacques-Louis David started out in Joseph-Marie Vien’s studio and went on to be awarded the Prix de Rome in 1774. Elected to the Royal Academy in 1784, he glorified the French Revolution’s martyrs in such works as “The Death of Marat” and “The Death of Young Bara”, and was imprisoned after the fall of Robespierre. At Bonaparte’s request, he painted “The Consecration of the Emperor”, a masterpiece of historical painting now on exhibition at the Louvre Museum. With the return of the Bourbons, David had to go into exile and ended his days in Belgium.
