Movement, Style, School or Type of Art:
Neo-Classicism
David overshadows other French painters of the period as the most noteworthy bridge between the Rococo and Romantic movements.
Date and Place of Birth:
August 30, 1748, Paris, France
Life:
David had great timing. Though his passionate support of and paintings about the French Revolution landed him in prison, they also made his career. Academically trained, his history paintings were technically flawless, but it took his Revolutionary intensity to incite him to paint the compositions for which he became famous. David had enormous influence on the next two generations of painters, having taught some (Gros and Ingres), while inspiring others (the Impressionists) to try new things.
Important Works:
- The Oath of the Horatii, 1784
- Oath of the Tennis Court, 1791
- The Death of Marat, 1793
- The Intervention of the Sabine Women, 1799
- Napoleon Crossing the Saint Bernard, 1800-01
Date and Place of Death:
(exiled from France) December 29, 1825, Brussels, Belgium
Sources and Further Reading
- Johnson, Dorothy. Jacques-Louis David: Art in Metamorphosis.
Princeton : Princeton University Press, 1993.
- Lajer-Burcharth, Ewa. Necklines: The Art of Jacques-Louis David After the Terror.
New Haven : Yale University Press, 1999.
- Lee, Simon. David A&I (Art and Ideas).
London : Phaidon Press, 1999.
- Roberts, Warren. Jacques-Louis David and Jean-Louis Prieur, Revolutionary Artists: The Public, the Populace, and Images of the French Revolution.
Albany : State University of New York Press, 1999.
- Vaughn, William. Jacques-Louis David's 'Marat' (Masterpieces of Western Painting).
Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Go to Artist Profiles: Names beginning with "D" or Artist Profiles: Main Index
