JACQUES-LOUIS DAVID Biography

Jacques-Louis David was one of the most influential European artists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, asserting power first as an imperial painter to the French king Louis XVI, then as director of art during the French Revolution, and later as Napoleon’s image-maker. Balancing art and politics throughout his career, David was able to leave an enduring mark, beyond his grand paintings of kings and generals. He played a key role in the establishment of museums in the country, including the institution that would become the Louvre. David also trained legions of painters, including Antoine-Jean Gros and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. David was born in Paris on August 30, 1748 into a prosperous middle-class family. After his father was killed in a duel, David, then nine, went to live with his uncles. At 16, the budding artist began studying with Joseph-Marie Vien, an important neoclassical painter, and after four unsuccessful attempts David finally won the coveted Prix de Rome in 1774. Five years of training at the prestigious French Academy in Rome followed, during which he refined his technique and forms, nurturing his strong neoclassical style. On his return to Paris, David attained vast popularity and success with his grand historical scenes portraying serious moralistic and patriotic themes, which set the standard for painting for the next two decades. He sealed his reputation at the Salon of 1785 with The Oath of the Horatii, which established the onset of a new classicizing style. On the strength of his achievement, David was appointed to the Royal Academy and worked as a court painter to the king. During the French Revolution, David assumed an active political role, joining the extremist movement of Maxmilien Robespierre and taking part in the Terror, a

-more- Page 2 particularly violent phase of the Revolution. As head of the Revolutionary Committee for General Security, David signed death warrants for nearly 300 individuals, including his former patron King Louis XVI. His art then took on a more contemporary tone to reflect the struggles between the private and public domains, a theme that resonated strongly with the issues raised by the Revolution. This politically active period of his life came to an end in 1794 when he was imprisoned for his role in the Terror, and narrowly escaped the guillotine. After his release, David turned away from overt political engagement, returned to his life as a painter and teacher, and began to concentrate on painting. His major work of this period, Intervention of the Sabine Women (1799), with its theme of love prevailing over conflict, has been interpreted as a moment of reconciliation in the civil strife that France suffered after the Revolution. The painting re-established David's fortunes as a history painter and brought him to the attention of a rising military star, Napoleon Bonaparte, who seized power in 1799. Once again David was drawn into the political arena, becoming Napoleon’s chief portraitist. His emblematic paintings of the military commander helped to drive the myth of the general who would crown himself emperor in 1804. With the fall of Napoleon in 1815 and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, David was forced into exile in Brussels by the Royalists. He returned to portraiture and also produced many mythological works that explored the conflicts between love and longing, resignation and anger. David enjoyed a fruitful career until his death in 1825, leaving a body of work that transformed French art, laying a foundation for the modern age of painting.

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