Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Marat

Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Marat, 1793, oil on canvas, 65 x 50-1/2 inches (Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels)
Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker
. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

[@LynnNeumann]

"In the arts, the way in which an idea is rendered, and the manner in which it is expressed, is much more important than the idea itself." -- Jacques-Louis David

[@erisdiscord1618]

Agreed!

[@user-yb8vr2ip2t]

Disagree. Picasso would, too. Ideas matter. Virtuosity does not.

[@miketackabery7521]

Both matter.

[@SOUNDsculptures]

What a painting. Thank you for this video, I always enjoy your commentary.

[@nandeyanen9942]

Thank you so much! This is one of my favourite paintings.

[@xeniaf.2984]

I love how it’s still your profile picture!

[@gelatinousjoe7979]

Death consciousness?

[@gerbilpmc]

same

[@sebastian0271]

Yes

[@AndyRiesgos]

That plus the fact that I studied French.

[@grammarnazi952]

It hurts to know that the words on the letter describe the motives of that album.

[@PriestBeats]

outstanding analysis and wording. Thank you !!

[@clodconut3873]

If you could please put subtitles to all the paintings, that would be great and really helpful to the people who don't speak fluent english.

[@JerryWatkinsMrRobot]

I think David believed in the revolutionary ideals but took opportunities as they came.

[@DarkAngelEU]

Alot of artists do. They just wanna make moneh. David is exceptional in his talent tho, and is remembered for that.

[@alfredoechevarrieta7512]

Muchas gracias Smarthistory.

[@majorinconvenience]

Cordey was not a royalist, she was a member of gironde

[@smarthistory-art-history]

+majorinconvenience we note this at 2:04

[@shkodranalbi]

Cordey was a heroine. Films should be made about her.

[@piaoingrou]

Marart was too radical, and too many people in France were killed. As I remembered Cordey's brother was killed by the jacobins and she wanted to put an end to this madness.

[@freewal]

Well Girondins were mostly Royalists... But they wanted a Kingdom like the UK was. A shared dictature between the King and a parliament of 400 nobles and bourgeois...

[@LadyCoyKoi]

She believed in egalitarian ideas, but believed Marat was overzealous in his tactics. She was against how he was practicing a "witch hunt" against anyone who was an aristocrat, even those who were neutral or with the revolutionists. Not all aristocrats were against an egalitarian society.

[@jajajaja9595]

Hey :) I like your idea of showing and commenting famous paintings. And it's made really good. :) But I have to correct you in a historical detail. Charlotte Corday was indeed aristocratic origin, but she was a "friend" of the revolution. She belonged to the Girondins. ;) And - if I am not totally wrong - the letter in Marat's hand existed, but was not found at the scene of crime. Corday never gave the letter to Marat. Also the little paper on the box was made up by David. Apart from that is the video really great. And thank you for making those videos as things like that are far too rare on the internet. :)

[@emileconstance5851]

There were three revolutionary martyrs David was asked to paint: Marat, Le Peletier, and the 13-year-old Joseph Bara. There are paintings and/or drawings of all three, however, I don't believe the martyr Joseph Chalier, mentioned in the video, was ever painted/drawn by David or a student of David. For the sake of clarity, Charlier's name should probably be replaced by that of Bara, since these are the three revolutionary martyrs depicted by David and/or a student of David.

[@jaimefairedescroquettesauc1136]

And as always, enjooooyyyy.

[@AnaCanti]

Just a point... Charlotte Corday was not a royalist. She was a supporter of the revolution and believed Marat was betraying the revolution

[@Weshopwizard]

Man I’d love to see that in person.

[@victor382]

Well. I’ll never look at David the same.

[@persebra]

I have always liked this painting. it sure packs a wallop!

[@user-ds4ns3uw7t]

La pintura es mi vida

[@frankiepictures]

David was such an awesome dude, this has to be my favourite of his!!!! xxx

[@michaelbyrd7883]

This is the greatest painting of the Romantic period, David would probably be the greatest painter of that time. Everything is subjective though!

[@hansendesigns]

Prison can change your ideas.

[@Sasha0927]

I'm curious about that tennis club battle, lol. What a backstory this painting has, though. Terrible way to go... His is the best image of Napoleon I've seen to date - I have a very clear understanding what he looked like, finally.

[@madhurajoshi6963]

asmr

[@lilmouse8]

At 1:41, should it be "suffrage" instead of "sufferage"?

[@connor-bj6ku]

"I suppose five or six hundred heads would've assured your repose, freedom, or happiness" Jean-Paul Marat

[@ce9782]

Corday was not a royalist. She was fed up with the unjust deaths of innocents during the Terror

[@alijoyce2169]

what is the thing in Marat s head called in eng.?

[@michaelcrouch8783]

He had to make a living! The reign of terror wasn't his doing.

[@miketackabery7521]

Well, we'll remember that many believed Napoleon was the continuation of the revolution , and indeed he sorta behaved that way in many of his conquests: erecting "liberty trees", etc. So it's possible David fell into that thinking. He was such a great painter, and such an awful person.

[@Wondertale00]

one thing, Marat has been moved out from Pantheon.