David, Jacques Louis (1748-1825) - 1788 Portrait of Monsieur Lavoisier and his Wife (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City)
Jacques-Louis David was a highly influential French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s his style of history painting marked a change in taste away from Rococo frivolity toward a classical austerity and severity, consistent with the moral climate of the final years of the old regime. David later became an active supporter of the French Revolution and friend of Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794), and was effectively a dictator of the arts under the French Republic. Imprisoned after Robespierre's fall from power, he aligned himself with yet another political regime upon his release, that of Napoleon I. It was at this time that he developed his 'Empire style', notable for its use of warm Venetian colours. David had a huge number of pupils, making him the strongest influence in French art of the early 19th century, especially academic Salon painting.
David, Jacques Louis (1748-1825) - 1788 Portrait of Monsieur Lavoisier and his Wife (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City)
Jacques-Louis David was a highly influential French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s his style of history painting marked a change in taste away from Rococo frivolity toward a classical austerity and severity, consistent with the moral climate of the final years of the old regime. David later became an active supporter of the French Revolution and friend of Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794), and was effectively a dictator of the arts under the French Republic. Imprisoned after Robespierre's fall from power, he aligned himself with yet another political regime upon his release, that of Napoleon I. It was at this time that he developed his 'Empire style', notable for its use of warm Venetian colours. David had a huge number of pupils, making him the strongest influence in French art of the early 19th century, especially academic Salon painting.