The Works Of Jacques-Louis David

( Originally Published 1906 )

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PLATES

'BONAPARTE CROSSING MOUNT ST. BERNARD' PLATE I

UPON Napoleon's return from the campaign in Italy he desired David to paint his portrait. As on a previous occasion, however, he was unwilling to sit for the artist, averring that Alexander had never posed for Apelles, nor had any of the great men of antiquity sat for the likenesses we possess of them; that it was the character, the soul, which should be portrayed, rather than any exact delineation of the features. And David, declaring that Napoleon was teaching him the art of painting, agreed to execute an ideal portrait of his hero. "I will paint you in battle, sword in hand," he said. "No, my dear David," returned Napoleon, "it is not with the sword that battles are won. I would be painted calm and serene upon a fiery steed." David accordingly, with the assistance of his pupil Gérard, painted the famous picture here reproduced of Bonaparte crossing the icy summit of Mount St. Bernard, pointing the way across the snow-bound Alps to Italy.

"This work," writes M. Léon Rosenthal, "has a world-wide reputation, but it is cold and formal in composition, the attitude is strained and theatrical, and the figure of Napoleon on horseback resembles an equestrian statue rather than a painting. The color is monotonous and uninteresting, and, finally, the evident effort to impart a symbolic significance to the work is unfortunate, for the idea is emphasized to such a point that truth is completely overlooked."

The picture is one of David's works to which he himself attached the greatest importance. With the assistance of his pupils he made several copies, which he frequently retouched with the utmost care. The original painting, reproduced in plate 1, is in the Palace of Versailles. It measures eight feet nine inches high by about seven and a half feet wide.

'THE OATH OF THE HORATII' PLATE II

DAVID'S celebrated picture `The Oath of the Horatii,' begun in Paris in 1783 and finished a year afterwards, during his second sojourn in Rome, was painted by order of the king, Louis xvi. The subject was one that appealed to the artist's love of classic history as well as to the republican spirit then rife in France.

The scene represents the three Horatii, brothers belonging to one of the most ancient patrician families of Rome, receiving from their father weapons with which to defend their country against the threatened supremacy of the land of Alba. Even as they had been chosen to represent the cause of Rome, so had that of Alba been intrusted to their cousins the Curiatii, three brothers like themselves, whom they were to meet in deadly combat.

Now it happened that a sister of the Horatii was betrothed to one of the Curiatii, and in the group of weeping women to the right of the picture David has introduced her grief-stricken form. No thought of their sister's sorrow, however, deterred the Horatii from duty to their country, and when the bloody fray was over, and the sole survivor, one of the Horatii, had returned to Rome in triumph with his threefold spoils, he mercilessly slew his sister for reproaching him with her lover's death.

First exhibited in David's studio in Rome, `The Oath of the Horatii' created a furore of enthusiasm which was repeated in Paris when it was shown in the Salon of 1785. Although possessed of some fine qualities, the picture strikes us to-day as theatrical and artificial. As in all David's works of this description, coloring counts for little or nothing; all stress is laid upon the drawing, the adherence to the statuesque in emulation of antique art, and upon the loftiness of the idea expressed.

The picture is in the Louvre, and measures nearly eleven feet high by thirteen feet three inches wide.

'PORTRAIT OF MONSIEUR SfiRIZIAT' PLATE III

THIS striking portrait in the Louvre represents David's brother-in-law, Monsieur Sériziat, in riding-costume. The pose is admirably chosen, the manner of painting vigorous, and the colors harmonious. Monsieur Sériziat is seated out-of-doors on a rocky bank upon which he has thrown his cloak of greenish-blue cloth. His coat is gray, his trousers buff, and his high boots are topped with tan-colored leather. His hair is powdered, and he wears a dark gray felt hat. The background is blue sky diversified with white clouds.

"This portrait and the one of Madame Sériziat," writes M. Frédéric Masson, "are among the most beautiful ever painted by David. They seem, indeed, to stamp his achievement with a renewal of freshness, grace, and joyousness attributable to the circumstances under which they were executed, and the object which he had in mind in painting them." The portraits were painted in 1795, immediately after the artist's term of imprisonment, and when he was spending some three months at Saint-Ouen, near Tournan, the country-seat of his brother-in-law, M. Sériziat, to whose efforts his liberation was largely due, and for whom David painted both works in grateful acknowledgment of his indebtedness.

'PORTRAIT OF MADAME SÉRIZIAT AND HER CHILD' PLATE IV

THIS portrait of Madame Sériziat, who before her marriage was Emilie Pécoul, sister to David's wife, was painted in 1795 as a companion picture to that of her husband. She is represented seated upon a sofa of dull red, dressed in a gown of creamy white, with a green ribbon knotted about her waist. Her straw hat is trimmed with ribbon of the same shade of green, tied in a bow beneath her chin. In one hand she holds a bunch of wild flowers, their bright hues contrasting with the white of her skirt, while with the other hand she clasps that of her little flaxen-haired child, who turns shyly away as it looks over its shoulder at the spectator.

Not even the English school can offer a more charming example of portraiture than this picture by David. Wholly lacking in the cold pedantic qualities of his historic canvases, it is full of life and naturalism. There is nothing stiff nor unreal in the composition, the modeling is admirable in its delicacy, and the coloring cool and harmonious.

The canvas measures about four feet three inches high by three feet two inches wide. It was acquired in 1902 by the Louvre, where it now hangs.

'THE SABINE WOMEN' PLATE V

DAVID'S famous picture in the Louvre of `The Sabine Women' was painted in his so-called Greek style. The subject, it is said, was suggested by a design on an engraved stone, and when in prison in 1795 he conceived the idea of the painting, which he completed four years later. It was exhibited in one of the rooms of the Louvre, to which, contrary to all precedent in France, an admission fee was charged.

Its fame had already been spread abroad by the artist's admiring pupils, and public curiosity was aroused by the knowledge that for many of the personages introduced, well-known men and celebrated beauties of the day had served as models. The success of the picture was immediate. So great were the crowds that flocked to visit it that the exhibition was kept open for five years, with the result that a sum exceeding 72,000 francs ($14,400) was realized. And yet the `Sabine Women' provoked much adverse criticism. Fault was found principally with its composition, which, it was justly said, lacked unity, and exception was taken to the nudity of the figures.

The scene represents that moment in the battle between the Sabines and the Romans when the wives of the latter rushed into the fray to prevent the slaughter of those dear to them in both the opposing armies by ties of blood and of affection. In the center stands Romulus, aiming his spear at Titus Tatius, King of the Sabines, who at the left of the picture assumes an attitude of defence. Between these is Hersilia, the wife of Romulus, with arms out-spread, imploring them to desist from the combat. About this central group are mothers distracted with terror, striving to protect their children, some kneeling in supplication, some rushing madly among the warriors, one, beside herself with fright, holding her child aloft in her arms. The background is filled with the two armies. On the left are the ramparts of the Roman capitol, and farther off is seen the Tarpeian rock.

The impression of this picture as a whole is far from agreeable. The color is cold, the attitudes theatrical, and although the artist evidently intended the scene to be full of movement, each figure is treated with such preoccupation for nobility of form and attitude that the general effect is stiff and unreal. Some of the details, however, possess much beauty. Taken separately, the different groups, notably the one in the center, are well arranged, and the individual figures are drawn with great purity and beauty of line. `The Sabine Women' admirably illustrates the cold classicism of David, in which formulae were followed and theories adhered to, with the result that all life, spontaneity, and naturalness were lost.

'PORTRAIT OF POPE PIUS VII' PLATE VI

"IN David's portrait of Pope Pius vit.," writes a French critic, "we are at once struck by the realism, by the astonishing force of expression, which reveals the very soul itself beneath the features of the face, by the superb freedom of execution, devoid of all rigidity, and by the vigor and beauty of the coloring."

This celebrated portrait, now in the Louvre, was painted in 1805, when Pius VII. had gone to Paris for the purpose of crowning Napoleon Emperor of France. In no other example of David's work in portraiture do we more forcibly feel his power than in this life-like presentment of the pope. Clad in a velvet mantle of dull red, richly trimmed with bands of gold embroidery, Pius vu. is seated before us in a chair covered with red and gold. The back-ground is a neutral shade, well calculated to offset the figure and emphasize the pale, emaciated face, with its dark eyes and fringe of dark hair.

Waagen says of this work, "It unites dignity and truth of conception with very fine drawing, masterly modeling, and a touch which is broad and yet delicate in an excellent impasto. No one of David's historical pictures known to me can assume, in its own class, anything like the same rank that this work properly takes in its character of a portrait."

'MADAME RÉCAMIER' PLATE VII

ONE of David's most charming portraits of women is this famous unfinished picture in the Louvre of Madame Récamier, the celebrated beauty and leader of society in Paris during the Consulate and the Empire.

Unlike most of the artist's works in portraiture, in which as a rule the subject is painted in so natural an attitude that there is no suggestion of a studied pose, we have here a more carefully arranged composition. Madame Récamier, dressed in a white gown whose long folds are so disposed as to reveal her bare feet, is reclining on a couch upon cushions of pale yellow bordered with delicate grayish-blue. The pure outlines of her head and figure are clearly defined against the plain surface of the background. At the head of the couch is a tall bronze lamp, the only ornament introduced into the apartment, which is severe in its simplicity.

David was engaged upon this work in the summer of 1800, his pupil Ingres, it is said, assisting him with the accessories. Before it was completed he learned that his beautiful model, not finding the picture wholly to her fancy, had decided to sit no more for him, but had, instead, commissioned Gérard, one of his most famous pupils, to paint her portrait. David's picture was accordingly left unfinished. "In admiring this masterly sketch," writes M. Charles Saunier, "so complete in its light transparent color, we ask ourselves `Was it not, after all, just as well that David carried his work no farther ?' We are inclined to think so, for it is possible that some of its delicate beauty might have been lost had he put the finishing touches to his charming study."

The painting measures a little over five and a half feet high by nearly eight feet wide. The figure is life-sized.

'PORTRAIT OF THE MARQUISE•D'ORVILLIERS' PLATE VIII

" WHEN David paints young women," writes M. Léon Rosenthal, "whether they be attractive because of their beauty or their grace, or only by reason of the charm of youth, his portraits are always characterized by an ingenuousness and an entire freedom from affectation which straight-way captivate the fancy. It may be that the Marquise d'Orvilliers, and various others, have not features that are absolutely regular, but they are posed with such a happy freedom from constraint, they seem to be so entirely at their ease and so ready to engage in an informal conversation, that it never occurs to us to find fault if the mouth be a trifle large, or the nose not strictly in accordance with academic rules. We feel sure that they must have enjoyed posing, for it is very evident that David enjoyed painting them."

The charming portrait of the Marquise d'Orvilliers, here reproduced, was painted in 1790. The canvas measures four feet four inches high by three feet three inches wide, and is owned by the Comte de Turenne, Paris.

'MICHEL GÉRARD AND HIS FAMILY' PLATE IX

IN this picture we have a noteworthy example of David's realism. Nothing could be more unlike his stilted historical compositions, in which the personages are posed with the rigidity of statues, than this life-like group now in the Museum of Le Mans, France. The principal personage is Michel Gérard, a Brittany farmer, who in the days of the French Revolution was elected a member of the National Convention. For the honesty and integrity of his character, as well as for his sound common-sense, "Father Gérard," as he was called, was universally respected. He always wore the simple dress of a Brittany peasant, in which he is here represented.

"The picture of Michel Gérard and his family," writes M. Louis Gonse, "is remarkably fine; the composition is compact and well centered, the personages being so skilfully grouped that the chief figure, the sturdy peasant in his shirt-sleeves, is given all due prominence. The attitudes and actions are varied, expressive, and highly characteristic. The whole work is frankly painted and very charming."

'THE CORONATION OF NAPOLEON AND JOSEPHINE' PLATE X

THIS celebrated picture, now in the Louvre, is regarded by many as David's masterpiece. It may be said to mark an epoch in the history of French painting. Although by no means without faults, the composition as a whole is stately, the grouping of the principal figures admirable, while the coloring, though not brilliant and now somewhat dimmed by time, is harmonious and, in parts, rich and beautiful.

The coronation of Napoleon and Josephine took place in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris, on December 2, 1804. In accordance with the wish of Napoleon, David has represented the moment when the emperor, already crowned by Pope Pius VII., who is seated behind him, is about to place the crown upon the head of Josephine. Clad in a white robe and long crimson mantle lined with ermine and bordered with gold, she kneels before him. He himself, standing with upraised arms upon the steps of the high altar, is arrayed in robes of state and wears a laurel wreath upon his brow. All the personages present are portraits—the prelates grouped about the pope, the dignitaries standing at the right, the princesses of the imperial family behind the empress and her attendants, and the brothers of the emperor at the left. Back of the central group, facing the spectator, are ranged the principal personages of the court, and in a tribune above is the mother of the emperor, who, although not present at the ceremony, was here portrayed at Napoleon's wish. Still higher up David himself is introduced sketching the scene.

This vast painting, which measures thirty-three feet long and twenty-one feet high and contains over two hundred figures, was begun in 1805 and finished three years later. In order to facilitate the artist's work the government placed at his disposal for a studio the old church of the College of Cluny. There, on January 4, 1808, Napoleon went in state, accompanied by the em-press, his ministry, and his staff, and preceded by a body of cavalry and a band of music, to see the picture which had just been completed. For more than half an hour he walked up and down in front of the great canvas, examining it in all its details. David and his assistants stood meanwhile motionless and silent, anxiously awaiting his verdict. Finally, his eyes still fixed upon the picture, he paused. "It is well done, David," he said, "very well. You have divined my thoughts; you have represented me as the embodiment of French chivalry. I am indebted to you for handing down to posterity this proof of affection which I have desired to show her who shares with me the cares of government." And then, with one of those dramatic effects of which he was so fond, he advanced towards the painter, and, raising his hat and slightly inclining his head, said in a loud voice, "David, I salute you!" "Sire," replied David, deeply moved, "I receive your salutation in the name of all artists, happy indeed to be the one whom you deign to address."

The picture was exhibited in the Louvre prior to the opening of the Salon of 18o8, and met with an immense success. As a testimony of his appreciation - Napoleon appointed his first painter an officer of the Legion of Honor.

A LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS BY DAVID WITH THEIR PRESENT LOCATIONS

BELGIUM. ANTWERP, MUSEUM: Head of an Old Man—BRUSSELS, MUSEUM: Mars Unarmed by Venus; The Flute-player, Devienne; Marat; A Boy—FRANCE. AIX-EN-PROVENCE, MUSEUM: A Young Man—AMIENS, MUSEUM: The Comtesse de Dillon—ANGERS, MUSEUM: Two Studies of Drapery—AVIGNON, MUSEUM: Joseph Bara—CAHORS, VERNINAC COLLECTION: Mme. de Verninac—CALAIS, MEUNIER COLLECTION: Mme. David; Bar0n Meunier; Baroness Meunier—CHALON-SUR-SAÔNE, CHEVRIER COLLECTION: De BLAUW—CHERBOURG, MUSEUM: Patroclus—DIJON, MUSEUM: Mme. Berlier and her Daughter—DOUAI, MUSEUM: Mme. Tallien—FONTAINEBLEAU, PALACE: Pope Pius VII. (replica)—LILLE, MUSEUM: Belisarius asking Alms; Napoleon; Apelles painting Campaspe (sketch)—LA MANS, MUSEUM: Michel Gérard and his Family (Plate IX)—LYONS, MUSEUM: The Huckster—MARSEILLES, QUARANTINE OFFICE: St. Roch interceding with the Virgin for the Plague-strIcken—MONTPELLIER, MUSEUM: Hector; Alphonse Lerny; Head of a Young Man; M. Joubert—NANTES, MUSEUM: Death of Cleonice (sketch)—NARBONNE, MUSEUM: The Good Samaritan; David and Goliath; Portrait; Bacchante and Attendants—ORLEANS, MUSEUM: Mme. Calis—PARIS, LOUVRE: Coronation of Napoleon and Josephine (Plate x); Oath of the Horatii (Plate II); Oath of the Horatii (Sketch); Le0nidas at Thermopyla;The Sabine Women (Plate v) ; Lictors bringing t0 Brutus the Bodies of his Sons; Belisarius asking Alms; Combat of Minerva and Mars; Paris and Helen; Three Ladies of Ghent; P0pe Pius VII. (Plate VI); Mme. Récamier (Plate VII; M. Pécoul; Mme. Pécoul; Mme. Chalgrin; M. Sériziat (Plate III); Mme. Sériziat and her Child (Plate Iv); M. and Mme. Mongez; Bailly; Portrait of David (Page 22)—PARIS, ÉCOLE DES BEAUX-ARTS: Antiochus—PARIS, MUSEUM OF THE COMÉDIE FRANÇAISE: Mme. Joly—PARIS, BARON COLLECTION: Sketch for the Curtain of the Chantereine Theater— PARIS, BIANCHI COLLECTION: The Death of Socrates—PARIS, DE CHAZELLES COLLECTION: Lavoisier and his Wife—PARIS, DIDOT COLLECTION: Telemachus and Eucharis; The Anger of Achilles—PARIS, DURAND-RUEL COLLECTION: Marat (replica)—PARIS, FEUARDENT COLLECTION: Coro-nation of Napoleon and Josephine (replica)— PARIS, JEAUNIN COLLECTION: Meyer, Minister Plenipotentiary; Baron Jeaunin; Baroness Jeaunin; Charles Jeaunin—PARIS, DE TURENNE COLLECTION: The Marquise d'Orvilliers (Plate VIII); The Comte de Turenne —PARIS, DE VILLEQUIER COLLECTION: The Marquis de Sorcy de Thelusson—RHEIMS, MUSEUM: Marat (replica)—Rouen, MUSEUM: Portrait, said to be of Mme. Vigie Le Brun—SEMUR, MUSEUM: Head of an Old Man—Toulon, MUSEUM: The Daughters of Joseph Bonaparte—VALENCE, MUSEUM: Ugolin— VERSAILLES, PALACE: Barère; Bonaparte crossing Mount St. Bernard(Plate i); The Distribution of the Standards; Pope Pius VII. (replica)—GERMANY. BERLIN GALLERY: Bonaparte crossing Mount St. Bernard (replica) —IRELAND. DUBLIN, NATIONAL GALLERY OF IRELAND: Death of Milo—RUSSIA. ST. PETERSBURG, COLLECTION OF PRINCE YOUSSOUPOFF: Saph0 and Phaon— VILLANOV, NEAR VARSOVIE, CHÂTEAU POTOCKI: Count Pot0cki.

DAVID BIBLIOGRAPHY

A LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL BOOKS AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES DEALING WITH DAVID

ALEXANDRE, A. Histoire populaire de la peinture: école française. Paris [I893]—BENOIT, F. L'Art français sous la Révolution et l'Empire. Paris, 1897—BERTRAND, L. La Fin du classicisme et le retour à l'antique. Paris, 1897—BLANC, C. Histoire des peintres de toutes les écoles: école française. Paris, 1865—BRETON, J. Nos peintres du siècle. Paris [1899] —BROWNELL, W. C. French Art. New York, 1901 — BRUN, C. Louis David und die franzosische Revolution. Zurich, 1886—CHESNEAU, E. La Peinture française au XIXe siècle. Paris, 1862-CHESNEAU, E. Les Chefs d'école. Paris, 1864— COOK, C. Art and Artists of Our Time. New York [1888] —COUPIN, P. A. Essai sur J. L. David. Paris, 1827—DAVID, J. L. J. Le Peintre Louis David. Paris, 1879 —DELABORDE, H. Etudes sur les Beaux-Arts. Paris, 1864—DELÉCLUZE, E. J. Louis David, son école et son temps. Paris, 1855 —GAUTIER, T. Guide de l'amateur au Musée du Louvre. Paris, 1882—HAMERTON, P. G. Contemporary French Painters. London, 1868—HEAD, SIRE. A Handbook of the History of the Spanish and French Schools of Painting. London, 1848— HOUSSAYE, A. La Révolution. Paris, 1890—JAL, A. Dictionnaire critique de biographie et d'histoire. Paris, 1872—KINGSLEY, R. G. A History of French Art. London, 1899—LAROUSSE, P. A. David (in Grand Dictionnaire Universel). Paris, 1866-90—LENOIR, A. David, souvenirs historiques. Paris, 1835—MARX, R. Etudes sur l'école française. Paris, 1903—MERSON,L. La Peinture française au XVIIe siècle et au XVIIIe. Paris [1900] —MICHEL, A. Les Chefs-d'oeuvres de l'art français au XIXe siècle. Paris, 1890—MIEL, M. Notice sur J. L. David. Paris, 1834—MUTHER, R. The History of Modern Painting. London, 1895—MUTHER, R. Ein Jahrhundert franzosischer Malerei. Berlin,1901 —PARISOT, A. David (in Michaud's Biographie universelle). Paris, 1843-[1865] —PINSET, R., AND D'AURIAC, J. Histoire du portrait en France. Paris, 1884—REGNET, C. A. Jacques Louis David (in Dohme's Kunst und Künstler, etc.). Leipsic, 1880—ROSENTHAL, L. Louis David. Paris [1905]—SAUNIER, C. LOUIS David. Paris [1904] —SPRINGER, A. Die Kunst wàhrend der franzôsische Revolution. Bonn, 1886—STRANAHAN, C. H. A History of French Painting. New York, 1888—THIBAUDEAU, A. La Vie de David. Paris, 1826—THIERS, A. La Vie de David. Paris, 1826—THORÉ, T. Les Peintres du XIXe siècle; Louis David. Brussels, 1843 —VALABREGUE, A. Jacques-Louis David (in La Grande Encyclopédie). Paris, 1886-1902 — VILLA RS, M. DE. Mémoires de David. Paris, 1850—WYZEWA, T. DE, AND PERREAU, X. Les Grands peintres de la France. Paris, 1890.

MAGAZINE ARTICLES

ART, 1899: A. Hustin; Exposition Universelle de 1889. Les Peintres du centenaire —LES ARTS, 1902: F. Masson; Les Accroissements des Musées. Deux portraits par Louis David. 1903: Un portrait de Louis David—ATHENAEUM, 1857: Louis David, his School and his Times—BENTLEY'S MISCELLANY, 1886: Louis David—GAZETTE DES BEAUX-ARTS, 1860: A. Cantaloube; Les Dessins de Louis David. 1880: L. Gonse; Review of 'Le Peintre Louis David,' par J.-L. David, son petit-fils. 1900: A. Michel; La Peinture française à l'exposition centennale. 1902: C. Saunier; Un dessin inconnu de la , Distribution des Aigles' de Louis David. 1903: J. Guiffrey; David et le théatre pendant le séjour à Bruxelles. 1905: C. Saunier; La Mort de Sénèque par Louis David—GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE, 1856: Louis David, the French Painter—NATION, 1904: A. Laugel; Review of Rosenthal's 'David'—REVUE DES DEUX-MONDES, 1896: J. Michelet; David et Géricault—REVUE GÉNÉRALE, 1881: G. Nieter; Le Peintre David—WESTMINSTER REVIEW, 1855: Review of Delécluze's'Louis David.'