At the Louvre, a committed and exalted David

Paris. Rigidity of postures, power of expression: facing the famous from the moment you enter Oath of the Horatii (1784) is the prelude to a long series of equally emblematic works by Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825). Works so deeply anchored in our imagination that it is very difficult to read them again. On the occasion of the bicentenary of his death, the Louvre is taking up the challenge by devoting a new retrospective to the great historical painter, thirty-six years after the last one it dedicated to him, in 1989. A sort of return to basics for the museum, which maintains a strong historical link with the artist: David lived there, exhibited there, and the Louvre today preserves the most important collection of his works. Of the hundred paintings and drawings presented, a third comes from the museum’s collections, a selection supplemented by numerous loans. The corpus is rich, certainly tighter than that of 1989 – which brought together nearly 250 pieces, distributed between the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles – but includes some works which had not made the trip at the time, such as the emblematic Death of Socrates from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York).

The specificity of the exhibition, however, lies in its approach: that of approaching the “David monument” by favoring a more sensitive reading of his work. “One of the challenges is to show that David finds a language appropriate to his time, that of a troubled era which saw the birth of a new world. This is why we do not use the term “neoclassical”, which refers to the 18th century.e century and to a largely formalist conception of his work”, explains Sébastien Allard, in charge of the curator with Côme Fabre and Aude Gobet, respectively curators and director of the study and documentation service of the Paintings department of the Louvre. The objective is achieved: the retrospective paints the portrait of an inventive, innovative painter, far from the cold rigor to which he can be confined. His works are understood in their pictorial quality, described by pointing out their originality: the dramatic intensity of the Saint Roch from its beginnings, the bold color of a Andromache in mourning, his portraits are striking in their purity…

Politically engaged

“Another point seemed important to us, that of restoring continuity to David’s career, whose production was largely divided into periods which correspond to the six political regimes he went through,” continues Sébastien Allard. Instead of this preconceived division, the linear progression therefore traces the entirety of his career, from his first disappointments to his growing success, from his increasingly radical political commitment to his exile in Brussels. All with clarity and didacticism, something not easy given the complexity of the historical context. The multiple political twists and turns, to which David is so intrinsically linked, are judiciously summarized in each cartel in a few key dates. The exhibition thus focuses on his art and its evolution, without separating it from its context.

The work is also compared with some compositions by his contemporaries: Girodet, Ingres, Gros, Gérard…, welcome points of comparison since David is inspired and inspires. The journey highlights the transition from Caravaggesque realism to an art more inspired by Nicolas Poussin, from the affirmation of his artistic identity to the progressive development of his workshop.

His legacy, on the other hand, is only briefly introduced through the pictorial production of his students, without mention of the considerable impact that he also had in the decorative arts, in the transmission of a style. The revolution that David brings about remains no less striking. If The Coronation of Napoleon (1807) could not be moved from the floors given its dimensions, the immense outline of the Oath of the Palm Game (1791), a celebration of the unity of the Nation that remained unfinished, came straight from Versailles. Further, his masterpiece The Sabines (1799, [voir ill.]), spectacular battle scene full of violence and emotion, is linked to his preparatory studies. Because, the strong point of the exhibition, the artist’s subtly worked drawings, less shown, regain all their importance here.

On a black background, in a refined space, the three versions of Marat assassinated are exceptionally brought together, the original (1793) having been loaned by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (Brussels). A beautiful scenographic gesture makes them respond to each other, confronting them in a striking face-to-face encounter. Throughout, the exhibition is supported by a thoughtful layout (designed by Louvre scenographer Juan-Felipe Alarcon), which plays on visual echoes, which brings the compositions together by arranging points of view. This is how the conquering gesture of Bonaparte crossing the Great Saint-Bernard (1801), finger pointing upwards, seems to guide the visitor towards the continuation of a journey which remains consistent until the end.