David’s Oath of the Horatii :: Art Analysis History

Davids execration of the HoratiiPainted in capital of Italy in the style of Neo-Classicism, Jacques Louis Davids swearing of the Horatii is one of the better-known examples of art produced by this artist of eclectic styles. This picture was hailed as the manifesto of a new school found on the fervent study of the antique and a return to classical techniques in the late 18th century. In this painting, completed in 1785 as an crude oil on canvas, David (DA-VEED) successfully coalesces the nascent and confused ideology of the Neo-Classical movement in a dramatic portrayal of the Horatii brothers swearing their eachegiance to the state as their father stands with swords held high for them to grasp. An analysis of the paintings historical background, and an rating of the lines, colors, and subject matter, will illustrate why Oath of the Horatii represents the defining characteristics of the Neo-Classical period.David enrolled in the Acadmie Royal in 1766, when he was eighteen. In 1769 he competed for the first clock time in the Prix de Rome, and lost. It was not until his fifth attempt in 1774 that he at last won with his Antiochus and Stratonice. The Academy maintained a branch in Rome and winners of the Prix were sent there on a fellowship to continue their studies. David returned to France in 1779 as a well-skilledif not yet well-knownartist and was suitable to display some work in the Salon. Over the next 5 eld he gained notice as a supreme drawer in studio nudes and as a man able to throw off classicism similar to Poussin. His work also appealed to the didactic philosophers of the Age of Reason. (Harber, 2)In 1784 David received a commission from the Comte dAngiviller (the head supervisor of all build and construction under the King of France, Louis XVI) for a painting based on a Corneillian subject. Corneilles play, Horace, was being performed in Paris at this time. Oath of the Horatii was started in Paris, but David felt he needed to b e immersed in the ambiance and culture of Rome to complete it. The painting created a sensation when first exhibited in Rome of 1885, and was seen as an allegorical name for a Revolution in France. Indeed, it was only four more years until the French Revolution was underway. The painting is now kept in the Louvre, Paris.