AOTW - Jacques-Louis David

Write on a separate sheet of paper. Please make sure your name is on it.

Please complete Part I in your own words and in complete sentences. Be specific and back up your answers with facts when asked to “describe or explain” an answer.

Use the following biographical website:

Part I:

  1. What is the name of the art movement (or period of time) in which David painted?
  2. What event in history was going on when David was a painter?
  3. David’s date of birth and date of death.
  4. Where was David educated?
  5. Define Neo-Classicism Painting. (you will have to look this up).
  6. Define and describe the Rococo style of painting (look up).
  7. What is a Court Painter? Look up this term and define.
  8. What is a Figurative Painter? Look up and define.
  9. Name two different subject matter that David painted.
  10. Describe David’s painting style during the French Revolution.
  11. What was David’s occupation during the French Revolution?
  12. Describe David’s childhood.
  13. Describe his rise to fame as a painter. Was he immediately successful? What was the turning point in his career?
  14. He won a prize for a painting early on – what was the title of this painting?
  15. What three Italian painters influenced David? Who of these three was the most realistic painter?
  16. How did marrying David’s wife change his career?
  17. Describe David’s groundbreaking work Oath of the Horatii. Talk about how it is painted and what the composition is like.
  18. What effect did this painting have on society at that time? What did it do for David’s popularity?
  19. David was elected to an organization in 1792 that allowed him to make dramatic changes in the way artists were trained and valued as artisans. Describe the situation and what effect David was able to have on artists of that day.
  20. David had a nickname during this revolutionary period in art history, what was it?
  21. David painted only one landscape. What is the title of this painting and under what circumstances was it painted?
  22. Who were three of David’s future master students in his later years of teaching? List these painters and look up one painting by each. Answer the following next to the images:
  23. What similarities in style (how the painting is composed, etc.) can you see between David and the student
  24. What differences are evident?
  25. Of the three artists, who is your favorite and why? Be specific.
  26. How did Napoleon play a role in David’s life? Describe his influence on David’s life and career.

Part Two:

Look up and print the following paintings by Jacuqes-Louis David. Answer these questions thoughtfully and in complete sentences for each painting:

  • Intervention of the Sabine Women
  • Death of Marat
  • Death of Socrates
  • Oath of the Horatii
  • Andromache Mourning Hector
  1. Describe the action/scene and the subject matter – what is the story being told?
  2. Identify the strengths of the composition (how the subject matter is arranged)
  3. Describe the style of the painting (how is it painted? Hyperrealistically? Abstractly?)
  4. Explain the mood of the piece and HOW the mood was achieved.