Art Captions

Author notes

0033. The Coronation of Napoleon

CornTown

on Feb. 17, 2010

By Jacques-Louis David
Circa. 1806
Neo-Classicism

Among propagandist, none can ever match the skill David. During the French revolution, David used his paintings to tell people that they should fight for their rights and be willing to die in order to achieve freedom. Others would go onto portray the idea that the revolution was a natural event, bound to happen and unstoppable. With the death of Louis XVI, David joined forces with Jean-Paul Marat who was very fond of finger pointing at others for causing the revolution. When Marat was assassinated, David once again used his art to portray Marat as a saint and hero of the people.
With the rise of Napoleon, David abandoned his ideas of democracy and became the official artist of a dictator. David would go onto paint over thirty portraits of Napoleon, showing him as godlike and a great leader. After the fall of Napoleon, David was banished to Brussels when he lived the rest of his life. When he died, David had so many enemies that the French government refused to let David's family bury his body on French soil.