'Death of Marat'

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that the famous painting 'The Death of Marat' by Jacques-Louis David is considered to be a masterpiece of neoclassical art. It is also probably one of the most iconic images of the French Revolution. The writer describes that in the center of the painting, the torso of a bleeding, dying man emerges. In his left hand, resting on a table, is a piece of paper with writing on it, while in his right hand, falling down to the ground, is a quill. The writer discusses that David's 'Death of Marat' is meant to dramatize the moment when Jean-Paul Marat, who published the radical newspaper 'The Friend of the People', was murdered. The event occurred dramatically when Marat was writing in his bathtub. The writer maintains that it is largely thanks to the 'Death of Marat' that David is now regarded as one of the great painters of the French Revolution. The writer concludes that the 'Death of Marat' can be found in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels, although copies of the painting, created in the revolutionary fervor that followed its unveiling, are on display in museums throughout France.

From the Paper:

"It is also not coincidental that David, of all people, would choose to depict Marat's death via painting. Like Marat, David had close ties to the Jacobins. A strong supporter of Robespierre, David became close friends with Marat during his lifetime. Marat and Robespierre both had the charisma and talent of overwhelming large masses of people through their speeches and actions. David would take on the responsibility of organizing Marat's funeral, as well as painting this beautiful, moving homage to the fallen hero. It is in many ways reminiscent of one of his earlier paintings, The Death of Lepelletier de Saint-Fargeau.
"David completed The Death of Marat in a very short time span. It would go on to become one of the most famous paintings of Neoclassicism, and is frequently evoked as David's best painting. Many critics have also evoked David as a precursor of Modernism, thanks to The Death of Marat."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Simon, Robert. 1991. David's Martyr-Portrait of Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau and the conundrums of Revolutionary Representation. Art History 14 (4): 459-487.
• Vaughan, William, and Helen Weston, eds. 2000. Jacques-Louis David's Marat. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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