Jacques Louis David

Jacques-Louis David was a French painter and the leading figure of Neoclassicism, a style that revived the order and grandeur of ancient Greece and Rome. Born in Paris in 1748, he became famous for large, austere history paintings with clear lines, heroic figures, and strong moral themes, a deliberate turn away from the frilly decoration of earlier French art.

He was deeply involved in the politics of the French Revolution, painting its martyrs and later becoming an official artist for Napoleon, whom he depicted in glorious, propagandistic scenes. His work carried real power in shaping public feeling. After Napoleon's fall David went into exile in Brussels, where he died in 1825, leaving a huge mark on European painting and a long line of pupils.