Le Happy Birthday- An ocean away two hundred sixty-six years ago, a master was born. When I first saw the paintings of Jacques-Louis David, what I saw was majesty transferred to a canvas. He successfully combined art with history, becoming one of the, if not, the greatest Neoclassical artist the world has ever seen. The knowledge he gained from his trips of Rome helped produce many of his first masterworks, capturing what is now lost antique Roman glory. Not only this, but he also breathed new life into the cold, marble statues that he tirelessly studied throughout his life to bring the scenes of ancient Greece and Rome to the masses of Eighteenth Century France. David’s works were not just aesthetically pleasing, but also carried with them important messages. David’s classical subjects, like Socrates and Erasistratus, symbolized the concepts of Greek and Roman reason, science, love and logic; concepts popular among the Enlightenment thinkers. David’s works became so influential that he was made a propaganda minister to the Revolutionary French government. He promoted the principles of the Revolution with his unfinished The Oath of the Tennis Court, and struck sympathy for the Revolution into peoples’ hearts with The Death of Marat. Even today, we still see the grandeur of Bonaparte crossing the Alps with David’s Napoleon at the Saint-Bernard Pass. Jacques-Louis David was undoubtedly a painter worthy of kings, and he, as well as his myriad of works, is a prominent force to be respected and valued. So Happy Birthday, Monsieur David. You look great for two hundred sixty-six!
