Jacques-Louis David: 6 works

'David made use of the creative attainments of his predecessors and emulated the depictions of horses by Rubens and Van Dyck. Two drawings of horses by David can be regarded as analogies to the Wilanów portrait.'

'During the French Revolution, Jacques-Louis David was imprisoned twice for his support of Robespierre and for signing arrest warrants while serving as a member of the Committee for Public Safety. While in prison, David made numerous portrait drawings of fellow prisoners, one of which is this drawing of André-Antoine Bernard, known as Bernard des Saintes, a lawyer who was eventually exiled for voting to execute Louis XVI.'

'In this way, Jacques-Louis David contrasts masculine rectitude with female emotion. David painted The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis during his exile in Brussels.'

'Jacques-Louis David, the leading Neoclassical painter in Europe during the French Revolution and under Napoleon, took exile in Brussels after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. There he painted and exhibited The Anger of Achilles, which he prized highly as the culmination of his career-long efforts to recapture the perfection of ancient Greek art.'

'Carlotta (1802-1839), married her cousin Napoleon Luigi, son of Luigi Bonaparte in 1826; already a pupil of David's in Paris, after her marriage she dedicated herself to painting and drawing under the guidance of Léopold Robert and Samuel Jesi.'

'Jacques-Louis David juxtaposed the sisters' different personalities through their contrasting expressions and attire.'