Born in Paris, 1748; died in Brussels, 1824.
Left an orphan at an early age, his grandfather, an architect, adopted
him. When a boy at school he met with an accident which deformed his
face for life. A stone struck him in the mouth, broke several teeth,
and a growth eventually formed upon his upper lip which gave him a
savage and ferocious expression. In early childhood he showed promise
of artistic talent. His uncle intended the boy to follow his profession
of an architect, but when the youth begged to be allowed to study
painting he yielded to his entreaties.
The famous painter, Boucher, then a very old man, saw some sketches
made by young David, and offered to take him into his studio as a
pupil. After Boucher, the painter Vien became David’s master, and the
student competed for the “Grand Prix de Rome”; he was unsuccessful four
times, but finally carrying off the prize started for Italy in 1776. He
devoted himself to the study of the antique, and adopted that severe
classical style by which his work is distinguished. While at Rome he
painted “The Pests of Saint Roch” for the Lazaretto at Marseilles. In
1780 he returned to Paris and produced “Belisarius” and “The Death
of Hector,” after which he was elected to the Academy, given an
appointment in the Louvre, and opened a school for young painters.
He married Mademoiselle Pecconi, a beautiful Italian girl, on the
occasion of his second visit to Rome in 1784. He exhibited the
“Horaces” in Paris, and was proclaimed “The Regenerator of Art.” Louis
XVI. patronised the painter, and commissioned him to paint “Brutus,”
which picture was finished early in 1789.
The Revolution changed David’s life and ideas; in 1790 the National
Assembly commissioned him to paint “The Oath in the Tennis Court.” In
1792 the artist was elected Deputy for Paris in the Convention. This
position seemed to affect his intellect and excite his brain.
The painter of “Brutus” considered himself another Brutus, and
imagined Louis XVI. deserved death because, being a king he must
necessarily be a tyrant.
During the early months of the Republic David organised those fêtes
which were intended to imitate the ancient popular feasts of Greece and
Rome.
He painted, amongst other numerous pictures, “The Assassination of
Michel le Pelletier” and that of “Marat by Charlotte Corday.” These
pictures were exhibited to the public in the courtyard of the Louvre.
He became the most violent among the violent Terrorists. His speeches
in the Convention invariably contained cries for more bloodshed. He
was the intimate friend and ally of Robespierre. After the fall of the
latter, David was twice arrested, and remained first four, and then
three, months in prison.
Bonaparte, after his first campaign in Italy, and when the peace
of Campo-Formio was concluded, sent for the painter, with whom he
had an interview. The General desiring he should paint his portrait
David said, “I will paint you sword in hand in the midst of a
battle.” Bonaparte replied, “Battles are not now gained with swords.
Paint me seated on a fiery charger.” This idea was realised in that
well-known picture, “The Return from Marengo.” Napoleon, after
assuming the imperial title, appointed David his painter-in-ordinary,
and commissioned him to paint four immense pictures to cover the
walls of the throne room in the Tuileries. “The Coronation” and “The
Distribution of Eagles in the Champ de Maers” were the only two
executed. “The Coronation” occupied the artist during three years
of incessant work. Until 1814 David remained in Paris, an imperial
favourite and a fashionable portrait-painter, enjoying the reputation
of being the greatest artist of his day. On the return of the Bourbons,
of whom he had been in a certain sense a personal enemy, he was not
allowed to exhibit his great picture, “The Thermophyles,” in public.
After the Second Restoration he was banished from France, to which
country he never returned. Before his departure he cut his two great
works, “The Coronation” and “The Distribution of the Eagles,” to pieces
with his own hands. By the order of Louis XVIII. the fragments were
re-united, and the pictures may now be seen in the museum at Versailles.
During his twenty years exile David continued to paint with industry
and vigour, dying at Brussels in 1824.