Editing Jacques-Louis David (section)

==Early work==
[[File:Jacques-Louis David - Equestrian portrait of Stanisław Kostka Potocki - Google Art Project.jpg|left|thumb|upright|''[[Portrait of count Stanislas Potocki|Equestrian portrait of Stanisław Kostka Potocki]]'' (1781)]]

Although David's fellow students at the academy found him difficult to get along with, they recognized his genius. David's stay at the French Academy in Rome was extended by a year. In July 1780, he returned to Paris.<ref name="Oxford"/> There, he found people ready to use their influence for him, and he was made an official member of the Royal Academy. He sent the academy two paintings, and both were included in the [[Paris Salon|Salon]] of 1781, a high honor. He was praised by his famous contemporary painters, but the administration of the Royal Academy was very hostile to this young upstart. After the Salon, the King granted David lodging in the Louvre, an ancient and much desired privilege of great artists. When the contractor of the King's buildings, M. Pécoul, was arranging with David, he asked the artist to marry his daughter, [[Marguerite Charlotte Pécoul|Marguerite Charlotte]]. This marriage brought him money and eventually four children. David had about 50 of his own pupils and was commissioned by the government to paint "''Horace defended by his Father''", but he soon decided, "''Only in Rome can I paint Romans.''" His father-in-law provided the money he needed for the trip, and David headed for Rome with his wife, [[Marguerite Charlotte Pécoul|Charlotte]], and three of his students, one of whom, [[Jean-Germain Drouais]] (1763–1788), was the {{Lang|fr|Prix de Rome|italic=no}} winner of that year.
[[File:Le Serment des Horaces - Jacques-Louis David - Musée du Louvre Peintures INV 3692 ; MR 1432.jpg|thumb|''[[Oath of the Horatii]]'' (1784)]]
In Rome, David painted his famous ''[[Oath of the Horatii]]'', 1784. In this piece, the artist references [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] values while alluding to [[Rousseau]]'s social contract. The republican ideal of the general became the central focus of the painting with all three sons positioned in compliance with the father. The Oath between the characters can be read as an act of unification of men to the binding of the state.<ref>{{Harvnb|Boime|1987|p=394}}.</ref> The issue of gender roles also becomes apparent in this piece, as the women in Horatii greatly contrast the group of brothers. David depicts the father with his back to the women, shutting them out of the oath. They also appear to be smaller in scale and physically isolated from the male figures.<ref>{{Harvnb|Boime|1987|p=399}}.</ref> The masculine virility and discipline displayed by the men's rigid and confident stances is also severely contrasted to the slouching, swooning female softness created in the other half of the composition.<ref>{{Harvnb|Boime|1987|p=398}}.</ref> Here we see the clear division of male-female attributes that confined the sexes to specific roles under Rousseau's popularized doctrine of "[[separate spheres]]".

These revolutionary ideals are also apparent in the ''[[Distribution of Eagles]]''. While ''Oath of the Horatii'' and ''[[The Tennis Court Oath (David)|The Tennis Court Oath]]'' stress the importance of masculine self-sacrifice for one's country and patriotism, the ''Distribution of Eagles'' would ask for self-sacrifice for one's Emperor ([[Napoleon]]) and the importance of battlefield glory.
[[File:David - The Death of Socrates.jpg|thumb|''[[The Death of Socrates]]'' (1787)]]

In 1787, David did not become the Director of the French Academy in Rome, which was a position he wanted dearly. The Count in charge of the appointments said David was too young, but said he would support him in 6 to 12 years. This situation would be one of many that would cause him to lash out at the academy in years to come.

For the [[Salon of 1787]], David exhibited his famous ''[[The Death of Socrates|Death of Socrates]]''. "Condemned to death, Socrates, strong, calm and at peace, discusses the immortality of the soul. Surrounded by Crito, his grieving friends and students, he is teaching, philosophizing, and in fact, thanking the God of Health, Asclepius, for the [[Conium|hemlock]] brew which will ensure a peaceful death... The wife of Socrates can be seen grieving alone outside the chamber, dismissed for her weakness. Plato is depicted as an old man seated at the end of the bed." Critics compared the Socrates with [[Michelangelo]]'s [[Sistine Chapel|Sistine Ceiling]] and Raphael's Stanze, and one, after ten visits to the Salon, described it as "in every sense perfect". [[Denis Diderot]] said it looked as if he copied it from some ancient bas-[[relief]]. The painting was very much in tune with the political climate at the time. For this painting, David was not honored by a royal "works of encouragement".

[[File:David Brutus.jpg|thumb|''[[The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons]]'' (1789)]]

For his next painting, David created ''[[The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons]]''. The work had tremendous appeal for the time. Before the opening of the Salon, the [[French Revolution]] had begun. The [[National Assembly (French Revolution)|National Assembly]] had been established, and the [[Bastille]] had fallen. The royal court did not want propaganda agitating the people, so all paintings had to be checked before being hung. David's [[Portrait of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and his wife|portrait of Lavoisier]], who was a chemist and physicist as well as an active member of the Jacobin party, was banned by the authorities for such reasons.<ref>{{Harvnb|Honour|1977|p=72}}.</ref> When the newspapers reported that the government had not allowed the showing of ''The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons'', the people were outraged, and the royals were forced to give in. The painting was hung in the exhibition, protected by art students. The painting depicts [[Lucius Junius Brutus]], the Roman leader, grieving for his sons. Brutus's sons had attempted to overthrow the government and restore the monarchy, so the father ordered their death to maintain the republic. Brutus was the heroic defender of the republic, sacrificing his own family for the good of the republic. On the right, the mother holds her two daughters, and the nurse is seen on the far right, in anguish. Brutus sits on the left, alone, brooding, seemingly dismissing the dead bodies of his sons. Knowing what he did was best for his country, but the tense posture of his feet and toes reveals his inner turmoil. The whole painting was a Republican symbol, and obviously had immense meaning during these times in France. It exemplified civic virtue, a value highly regarded during the Revolution.