a record of some of the key events of modern history, from the French
Revolution through the coronation of Napoleon as emperor.
We see ¿ rst The Oath of the Horatii (1785). The story of this painting is
told in Livy’s History of Rome. When a disagreement between the people
of Rome and the people of Alba threatened war, it was decided to settle the
dispute by combat among three representatives of each side: three men from
the Horatii family of Rome and three from the Curiatii family of Alba. In this
picture, the three Horatii are depicted taking the oath before their father, who
holds up their swords. In contrast to their stern, angular attitudes, their sisters
huddle in despair on the right side. We know that one of them was engaged
to one of the Curiatii, which adds poignancy to the moment. The ¿ gures
are rhythmically organized by the triple arcade behind them. Although the
picture apparently had no immediate political intent, it certainly was in the
moral spirit of the time, and it anticipates the revolutionary sacri¿ ces soon
to come.
Next we examine David’s Death of Socrates (1787). It was Plato who
described the death of Socrates, who was condemned to die for corrupting
the young with his ideas. Socrates accepted the cup of hemlock and drank it;
then, he rebuked his young students for their uncontrolled grief and lay down
to die. David’s decision was to combine the two sequential moments: Socrates
is about to take the cup, but he is already remonstrating with his followers.
David invents a variety of demonstrative poses and facial expressions for
the men, but apart from Socrates himself, it is the ¿ gure of Plato that is most
affecting. Again, the subject is about sacri¿ ce—but this time, it is personal
sacri¿ ce in defense of truth and the sanctity of free thought, rather than in
defense of the state.
The antecedents, progress, and aftermath of the French Revolution that
began in 1789 are too overwhelming to summarize in these lectures. Thus,
we skip over those years to the watershed year of 1793, which began with the
execution of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in January and witnessed
the murder of Marat in July. Our next image is The Death of Marat (1793) by
David. Jean-Paul Marat was a doctor who had become a radical journalist.
He was a powerful member of the Jacobin Club of Paris, which spawned
Robespierre, who created the Committee of Public Safety, soon known as the