The Lictors Bringing Brutus the Bodies of his Sons
1787
Jacques-Louis David captures a moment of ultimate political sacrifice in this gripping 1787 study. On the left, Lucius Junius Brutus sits in brooding silence, having just sentenced his own sons to death for conspiring to restore the monarchy to Rome. While his family collapses in grief on the right as the lictors return the bodies, Brutus remains in the shadows, embodying the cold, hard duty of the new Republic. This powerful image of civic virtue over personal love became a massive sensation right before the French Revolution, essentially serving as a rallying cry for the republican cause.
- Technique
- Drawing
Location: Louvre Museum
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