Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825)
Born to a wealthy Parisian family, Jacques-Louis David was aged seven when his father was shot dead in a pistol duel. Brought up by his uncles, his desire was to paint and he was eventually sent to his mother's cousin, Francois Boucher, the most successful painter in France at the time.
Painting became an important means of communication for David since his face was slashed during a sword fight and his speech became impeded by a benign tumour that developed from the wound, leading him to stammer. He was interested in painting in a new classical style that departed from the frivolity of the Rococo period and reflected the moral and austere climate before the French Revolution.
David became closely aligned with the republican government and his work was increasingly used as propaganda with the Death of Marat proving his most controversial work.
Jacques Louis David e “La Morte di Marat”, che ritrae l’"amico del popolo” ucciso a tradimento: un quadro che rappresenta, insieme, il dramma della Rivoluzione Francese e la pittura storica di fine ‘700.
In primo piano l’opera di Jacques Louis David di cui Schama analizza la forza della pittura storica e di propaganda dopo la rivoluzione proprio con la “Morte di Marat” del 1793. Ma David è anche il pittore della leggendaria sfida tra gli Orazi e i Curiazi per salvare Roma e dei coniugi Lavoisier ritratti a un tavolo con diversi strumenti chimici, del Giuramento della Pallacorda, e di un quadro che ha come protagonista Lucio Bruto, personaggio della Roma Antica.
Спустя полтора месяца после якобинского переворота (1793), один из его вдохновителей и вождей Жан Поль Марат был заколот в своей квартире дворянкой по имени Шарлотта Корде. Жак-Луи Давид - чуткий летописец своего времени - берется изобразить на полотне мученика для новой церкви Свободы, Равенства и Братства и создает настоящий шедевр. Его полотно - грандиозный политический миф, но миф красивый и возвышенный, в котором реальность переплетается с вымыслом. Искусство окончательно становится сообщником власти.
