Perrin Stein

Mehdi Korchane

Louis-Antoine Prat

Philippe Bordes

Daniella Berman

Juliette Trey

The first major exhibition catalogue to focus on Jacques Louis David's drawings and their pivotal role in the creation of his iconic history paintings The paintings of Jacques Louis David (1748–1825) are among the most iconic in the history of Western art, but comparatively little is known about his nearly two thousand drawings that formed the basis of beloved masterpieces such as The Oath of the Horatii and The Death of Socrates. Jacques Louis David: Radical Draftsman accompanies the first major exhibition to focus on the artist's often yearslong process of trial and experimentation, from initial idea to finished canvas. Including several recently discovered drawings published here for the first time, this volume provides a new perspective on the celebrated master. Essays by international experts explore what David's preparatory works on paper reveal about his creative process and how they bear witness to the tumultuous years before, during, and after the French Revolution. As both a participant and an observer, David helped establish the new French society while documenting the drama, violence, and triumphs of modern history in the making.

Jacques Louis David: Radical Draftsman

Focusing on portrait painting in Paris during the Consulate (November 1799 to May 1804), this book explores the contextual nexus in which the Portrait of Cooper Penrose was created. Philippe Bordes considers how this picture relates to other works painted by David during this period and to portraits painted by the artist's contemporaries, and also explores the political and social consequences of David's attitude to Bonaparte, the artist's relations with his clients, and the state of his family finances during this period. This investigation of the Portrait of Cooper Penrose constitutes the most complete analysis of the picture ever undetaken. Bordes proposes that Penrose selected David as his portraitist not only because of his international renown as an artist, but also because of his reputation as a Revolutionary.

Cooper Penrose by Jacques-Louis David

Portraiture in Paris Around 1800

A landmark publication that sheds new light on the work of Jaques-Louis David, the most celebrated artist of his time

Philippe Bordes

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