Jacques-Louis David (30 august 1748 — 29 december - 1825) — French painter and draftsman, dubbed the "painter of the Revolution," his vote may have been decisive in the final judgment of the French monarchy. During a session of the Convention in 1793, the votes of the representatives of this legislative body were evenly divided - 360 people voted for the death penalty for King Louis XVI, and the same number voted against it. Jacques-Louis David was a little late for the meeting, so his vote was crucial. He chose the death sentence for Louis XVI, which caused a complete quarrel with his wife. She was a realist and could not forgive her husband for such a decision. She took their four children and left David. So political differences destroyed a strong family.
But everything changes, and political views change especially quickly and radically. When Napoleon Bonaparte's star rose, David admired him and supported him as fervently as he had supported the Revolution. Before he had painted pictures urging the people to overthrow the autocracy, but now he glorified Napoleon and said: "Bonaparte is my Eros, and the shape of his head can compete with the best examples of ancient statues."
Napoleon Bonaparte in his study in the Tuileries
In this article, we will talk about Jacques-Louis David, who so easily changed his mind, his extraordinary life, and his amazing paintings that became part of the "golden fund" of academic painting.
Jacques-Louis David was born into a wealthy family in Paris. His father, Maurice-Louis David, was a successful businessman, dealing in metals, and tried to give young Jacques a good education. He enrolled him in a prestigious and expensive private boarding school, where the boy studied Latin and ancient Greek, history, anatomy and, most importantly, learned to draw. Unfortunately, Maurice-Louis rashly challenged his tormentor to a duel, which ended badly for the businessman. So, at the age of 9, Jacques was left without a father, and he remembered him very poorly - perhaps a kind of defensive reaction. But at the same time, he always wanted to be like him, was happy when relatives said that he lisped like his father, and even as an adult, he proudly wore a scar near his mouth that he had received in a duel - at that time, they were very popular among representatives of high French society, and refusing to participate in them was equated with cowardice.
Jerome Martin Langlois. Portrait of Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis was brought up by his uncles, the architects Jacques Bron and Jean-François Demaison, and it soon became clear that the boy was not very interested in the exact sciences, so it was unlikely that he would become a successful architect or businessman, but he was clearly not indifferent to painting. They sent him to study with François Boucher, who was fortunately their distant relative. However, Boucher's best years were behind him, he was already 60 years old, he suffered from eyesight problems - a common thing for artists, practically their professional disease - and he did not want to teach young David. But he suggested that he study with Joseph-Marie Vien - perhaps not the most talented French painter, but a good teacher.
David really wanted to win the Prix de Rome, which was awarded by the French Academy of Painting and allowed him to travel to Italy at public expense to see the outstanding paintings of Italian artists: Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Titian, and Raphael. But nothing worked out - the prize had already been awarded three times to someone else. The third time was particularly insulting - David received a mocking consolation prize for "best painting of a nude" and, in the heat of the moment, decided to commit suicide.
The Death of Seneca. Fragment.
Fortunately, the artist was stopped at the last moment by his patron, David Sedan, who held the enviable position of Secretary of Royal Architecture. He convinced the hot-blooded young man that he had everything ahead of him in painting, he just had to wait for his chance.
Finally, on the fifth try, David won the coveted prize and went to Rome. There he wasted no time in mixing business with pleasure. He began an affair with an Italian maid that ended with the girl becoming pregnant. David did not want to marry her and she sued him, the case might have ended with the nimble painter in jail, but his kind first teacher Joseph Vien came to the rescue and paid the girl a considerable compensation.
But David had no time for his family, he studied Italian art with passion, attentively, thoughtfully, trying to understand all the secrets of mastery. Gradually, from the Renaissance, he moved to the study of antiquity, with great difficulty he obtained the right to copy images of Hellenistic cameos, went on excavations, trying to study the original source from which all subsequent art came.
Belisarius begs for alms
David returned to Paris as a mature artist. Before that, he had only tried to master the fading Baroque style or to paint in the Rococo style, and after a trip to Italy, David began to paint pictures with clear lines and clear composition, on the ancient subjects he was familiar with and loved. This was already Neoclassicism, a new look at antiquity, taking the best of it and adding elements and techniques of contemporary painting.
Soon David was able to exhibit his paintings in the Louvre Salons.
Portrait of Count Potocki
His paintings were well received, and he even received modest praise from the leading art critic of the time, Denis Diderot: "David has exceptional taste, bright colors, but the horse's leg is too tense".
But the public no longer doubted David's talent. Behind the antique subjects, they saw dreams of the greatness of France, and David received many commissions to paint. Soon he married Charlotte Marguerite, the daughter of the royal contractor Pecoul - he himself betrothed his daughter, wisely deciding that this young artist would make an excellent career.
David's most important painting, which brought him fame, was "The Oath of the Horatii".
The Oath of the Horati
At that time, revolutionary sentiments were in the air in France and the message of this painting was close to all French people. David became close to the French revolutionaries Marat and Robespierre, became a member of the Convention, where he made the epochal decision regarding the fate of the king. He also did much for the Louvre, which became a national museum, and appointed the famous artist Fragonard, who was retiring, as its director.
When Marat was killed by the aristocrat Charlotte Corday, David immediately arrived at the scene and quickly made a sketch for perhaps his best painting, "The Death of Marat".
The Death of Marat
But the Jacobins were not in power for long, and the terror they unleashed turned against them. David was also imprisoned, and it was there that he painted an impressive self-portrait while awaiting his death sentence.
Jacques-Louis David. Self-portrait.
David was saved by his ex-wife Charlotte Pecoul. She did everything she could to get her husband out of jail - a perfect proof that true love is stronger than political preferences. They remarried and lived together for 29 years, until the artist's death.
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