1748-1825. French painter in the 
Neo-Classical style. He was an active 
supporter of and unofficial painter to the 
republic during the French Revolution, for 
which he was imprisoned 1794-95. He won the 
Prix de Rome 1774 and studied in Rome 
1776-80. Back in Paris, his strongly 
Classical themes and polished style soon 
earned success; a picture from this period is 
The Oath of the Horatii 1784 (Louvre, Paris). 
During the Revolution he was elected to the 
Convention and a member of the Committee of 
Public Safety, and narrowly escaped the 
guillotine. He was later appointed court 
painter to the emperor Napoleon, of whom he 
created images such as the horseback figure 
of Napoleon Crossing the Alps 1800 (Louvre, 
Paris). In his Death of Marat 1793, he turned 
political murder into a classical tragedy. 
Later he devoted himself to the empire in 
paintings such as the enormous, pompous 
Coronation of Napoleon 1805-07 (Louvre,
Paris). After Napoleon's fall, David was 
banished by the Bourbons and settled in 
Brussels.