Product Description
More than any other artist, Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) is identified with the dramatic upheaval of the French Revolution. As a politician, he welcomed the promise of social change; as an artist he used his brush to glorify the Revolution's heroes and martyrs. When the political tide changed, David became Napoleon's chief painter, capturing the imperial pomp and contributing to the cult of military heroism. In this engrossing account Simon Lee argues that David was the single most important European painter of the age, perfecting a style of dramatic and noble painting that matched exactly the contemporary desire for morally elevating images. A leading exponent of what was to be termed Neoclassicism, David was, however, capable of departing considerably from its ideals of understatement and restraint. Lee's account is the first to trace all aspects of David's career, from his intellectual interests to his entrepreneurial skills and his relationships with patrons.
Amazon.com Review
Writing on the French Revolution, Karl Marx famously commented that the heroes of the revolution "performed the task of their time in Roman costume and with Roman phrases." The one painter who was almost single-handedly responsible for clothing the revolution in the mantle of the classical past was Jacques Louis David (1748-1825), one of the most controversial painters to have emerged from this turbulent period in the history of modern France. Although David's austere classical style has fallen out of fashion in recent years, Simon Lee's study David does a fine job of rescuing the artist from antiquarian curiosity, and placing him right back at the heart of revolutionary France. Lee charts the rise of David from relative mediocrity as a highly academic painter to his enthusiastic support for the Revolution of 1789, culminating in his remarkable painting Marat Breathing His Last (1793). Arrested and narrowly avoiding execution in the political backlash following the overthrow of Robespierre, David turned his back on politics to concentrate on his art, only to find himself catapulted back into the political limelight with his fervent embrace of Napoleon Bonaparte. This loyalty formed the foundation of some of David's most imposing paintings, from the equestrian portraits of Napoleon to the pomp of The Coronation of the Emperor and Empress. But once again, David's political hopes were dashed with Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815, which led the painter into self-imposed exile in Brussels, where he died a decade later. Despite Lee's rather wooden prose, this is a thorough, detailed, and generously illustrated study of a fascinatingly contradictory, patrician, but technically brilliant painter. --Jerry Brotton
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 the last reviewer is a jerk off, 2008-04-04
I just finished reading this book and it is great. The words flow as well as the the color pictures. Every painting Mr. Lee writes about is also presented. One couldn't ask for more. The last person who wrote the moronic review doesn't know what he is talking about. The naked person in the book he is refering to is a modern artist who posed for a picture to make a work of art in minutes instead of the way of David, that is the way of skill. In short the picture of the naked guy is just some lazy slob that doesn't reflect on the book whatsoever. Well I question why Mr. Lee would included it, but in my opinion that lapse is the only one in the book.
David the Revolutionary, 2004-01-27
I agree with other reviewers that David is usually glossed over in textbooks, and this is a shame, because not only was David the most important and influential French artist at the end of the eighteenth century, he was also a politician active in the French Revolution, and I think we should be very careful about underestimating the impact of his images on the public at that time. David, in constrast to his Rococo predecessors, was very much a public artist, and his paintings were effective propaganda that tried to cement the new code of morals that surged in on the tide of the Revolution. This is a phenominally important fact that for some reason only gets slipshod treatment in more general books.Another nice thing about this book that no other reviewers have mentioned is the section at the end that deals with David's legacy. These sections are in all the books in the Phaidon Art & Ideas series and I think they're especially eye-opening. Lee points out how opinions of David's work have continually been changing since his death. For example, he discusses how an Italian artist (whom the idiot reviewer from Singapore somehow mistook for the "narcissistic author" [?!?] and decided to pass off the rest of the book as worthless because of it) posed as a character from "The Intervention of the Sabine Women" to illustrate David's ideas of masculinity and start some sort of dialogue about how they apply (or do not apply) to the modern world. Highly readable prose, great art history with appropriate general history breathed back into it--as it should be.
 I didn't buy this book, 2001-10-15
Well, why not?
I have to admit that this book on David looks good. However, whilst flipping thru the book, I came across the end section and there was this picture of the author in full frontal nudity, in a heroic pose. I don't see the link between a photo of a naked man and David's biography.
I can only attribute this to the fact that the author is indulging in narcissistic display.
Excellent Profile of the Life, Times & Works of David, 2001-08-12
I was thoroughly impressed with this profile of Jacques-Louis David. It was given to me as a gift and I was not sure of quite what to expect. From my experience, David is often given little more than a few pages (or even a few brief paragraphs) in art textbooks and thus if a person wants to know more, it is necessary to do a bit of digging. From the introduction, my fear was dispelled and I knew I was in for a treat. The author discusses David's personal life, his political ideas and involvement, the relevant historical details, and David's works. The illustrations are wonderful and aside from David's paintings and sketches, the works of artists like Boucher, Vien, Caravaggio, Poussin, Gros and Ingres are included. Lee generally gives a fair amount of analysis on each of David's works. Most students will recognize The Oath of the Horatii, The Death of Socrates, and Marat Breathing his Last but will also see and learn about The Coronation, The Distribution of the Eagle Standards, Brutus, Intervention of the Sabine Women, Belisarius Receiving Alms and Mars Disarmed By Venus, to name a few. Regarding the politics of the French Revolution, Lee discusses David's role, his allies, his enemies, and his skillful use of paintings as propaganda. We see David shift from painter to the monarchy to painter for the Revolution to painter for Napoleon to painter for himself, warts and all. One should not assume that Lee candy-coats the issues in this book. He neither presents David as a flawless genius nor spoils the book with pretentious blather. The text is informative and sophisticated without being cumbersome or haughty. Other great features of the book include a convenient glossary, short biographies on pertinent figures, a map and a timeline. Whether you are an expert art historian or a student, you will find this book to be a great addition.
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