Story
The idealistic portrait painting named The Death of Marat depicts the assassination of a leader during the French Revolution. Jean-Paul Marat was a founder of a newspaper called, ‘L’Ami du Peuple’ or “the Friend of the People’ which he used to turn the masses against politicians. He belonged to a group, the Jacobins, and was also in charge of the Sans Culottes who blamed the Girondins for the rise of prices for food and defeats on the battlefield. Marat was widely believed to be the leader of the mob that was continually stirring up havoc with the French leaders. Yet when this painting was published it had a very positive effect for Marat. As even though Marat was no longer living his reputation had greatly improved. Murder Marat suffered from a skin condition called eczema requiring him to bathe in oatmeal; while there, he usually worked. On, July 13, 1793, Charlotte Corday, a Girondin* from a minor aristocratic family and a political enemy of Marat, gained entrance to Marat's room with intentions of murder. Since Marat was against the Girondins, she had to get rid of him before he confessed the names of her people onto a list of people to be guillotined for opposing the government. Thus, his demise. Corday drew a knife and instantaneously killed Marat but did not attempt to flee; she was later tried and executed. Many people considered Corday’s act of violence extremely cowardly. As she had to gain entrance into Marat’s home under false pretenses. *-a faction made up of moderate republicans who advocated a constitutional government and continental war. |
Purpose
The purpose for painting the death of Marat was to in a way memorialize Jean Paul Marat on behalf of his friend, Jaques-Louis David. But it was also viewed as a powerful political statement that brought to light the horrendous occurrences as a result of the French Revolution. One function of the painting was to keep the Revolution moving forward as “commissioned by the convention”. If David wanted to ensure of maintaining the momentum, it was necessary to fabricate Marat into a more appealing way to society, hence adding in his personal opinion yet being able to say he was told to paint this; he could not look old and ill, for he was a “friend of the People”. His aim was to “construct images of the secular saint,” and to help Marat’s political ideologies live on, David depicts him in a martyr like fashion. As any popular artist would have done, David's painting drew large crowds that admired the painting while overlooking the inaccuracies being dealt out to the public. Thus, gaining support as the people believed his interpretation of the murder of a close friend, and proving the power of art but also challenging historians to question the face value of this work. In the end, this painting strengthened the support of the Jacobins by alluring the sympathies of the people. |