Marat Assassinated
1793
Jacques-Louis David turned a gruesome political assassination into a hauntingly beautiful masterpiece in 1793. He depicts the radical journalist Jean-Paul Marat slumped in his medicinal bath, clutching a letter from his killer, Charlotte Corday, while a bloody knife lies abandoned on the floor. By placing the scene against a stark, empty background, David elevates a brutal murder into a secular martyrdom, essentially creating the ultimate political propaganda poster of the French Revolution. It's a chilling reminder of how art can be weaponized to shape history.
- Technique
- Oil painting
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 162 cm × 128 cm
Location: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels
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