David
More than any other artist, Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) is identified with the dramatic upheaval of the French Revolution. As a politician, he welcomed the promise of social change; as an artist he used his brush to glorify the Revolution's heroes and martyrs. When the political tide changed, David became Napoleon's chief painter, capturing the imperial pomp and contributing to the cult of military heroism. In this engrossing account Simon Lee argues that David was the single most...
Search in google:
More than any other artist, Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) is identified with the dramatic upheaval of the French Revolution. As a politician, he welcomed the promise of social change; as an artist he used his brush to glorify the Revolution's heroes and martyrs. When the political tide changed, David became Napoleon's chief painter, capturing the imperial pomp and contributing to the cult of military heroism. In this engrossing account Simon Lee argues that David was the single most important European painter of the age, perfecting a style of dramatic and noble painting that matched exactly the contemporary desire for morally elevating images. A leading exponent of what was to be termed Neoclassicism, David was, however, capable of departing considerably from its ideals of understatement and restraint. Lee's account is the first to trace all aspects of David's career, from his intellectual interests to his entrepreneurial skills and his relationships with patrons.
Introduction41Finding a Voice: Parisian and Roman Beginnings92Painted Virtue and Patriotism: Success in Enlightenment Paris553Making a New World: David and the Revolution1094Close to the Edge: Prison, Recovery and Change1855Napoleonic Panoramas: The Emperor's Painter2216Declining Years? Exile in Brussels2877Gross David with the Swoln Cheek: David's Afterlife3198Glossary330Brief Biographies332Key Dates336Map341Further Reading342Index346Acknowledgements350
