In the 1780s, Jacques-Louis David, the painter of the French Revolution, rocketed to the forefront of European painting with a severe new style of depiction. His ambitions led him all the way into a new government, which he served with lethal devotion.
It’s a self-portrait with the usual attributes. Brush in one hand, palette in the other. His face is still youthful, but his eyes have seen it all: the execution of a king, the execution of a queen. And the background does not disclose the setting: a Paris prison cell where he was confined in 1794, once the Reign of Terror he championed — he facilitated — came to an end.
“Here was an artist who didn’t just represent the world, but actually changed it,” the critic Jason Farago writes. You can read his full article for free here, even without a subscription to the NYT.
toukayeah | a day ago
I think that title is reserved for a certain other person in history..
TywinDeVillena | a day ago
Even ignoring the Austrian guy, I would say Caravaggio was far more dangerous (guy was a homicide)
Kurta_711 | 22 hours ago
Rare but grammatically correct use of the word homicide to refer to someone who has committed a homicide
Direct_Bus3341 | 14 hours ago
Common use of prescriptivism.
Kurta_711 | 13 hours ago
Not prescriptivism at all and I think you misunderstood my comment, but ok bro
AlanFromRochester | 15 hours ago
Jacques-Louis David lucky bar for worst painter is very high
VE2NCG | 20 hours ago
Came to said this, this other painter is wayyy worse.
AltGrendel | 23 hours ago
Analysis of Jacques-Louis David’s painting of the death of Marat by Art Deco
originalclaire | 17 hours ago
Hey, thanks!
[OP] thenewyorktimes | a day ago
In the 1780s, Jacques-Louis David, the painter of the French Revolution, rocketed to the forefront of European painting with a severe new style of depiction. His ambitions led him all the way into a new government, which he served with lethal devotion.
It’s a self-portrait with the usual attributes. Brush in one hand, palette in the other. His face is still youthful, but his eyes have seen it all: the execution of a king, the execution of a queen. And the background does not disclose the setting: a Paris prison cell where he was confined in 1794, once the Reign of Terror he championed — he facilitated — came to an end.
“Here was an artist who didn’t just represent the world, but actually changed it,” the critic Jason Farago writes. You can read his full article for free here, even without a subscription to the NYT.