Jacques-Louis David, 1793 – Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels

Oil on canvas 165 × 128 cm (64.9 × 50.3 in)

David, a leading painter of the French Revolution and a close friend of Marat, created this image to honor his fallen ally. Marat, a radical journalist, was murdered in his bathtub by Charlotte Corday, a royalist. David chose to show Marat not in pain, but peaceful, almost saint like. The painting uses a clean, simple style to turn a violent act into a symbol of noble sacrifice. David wanted viewers to see Marat’s death not as a tragedy, but as a powerful message: that dying for the Republic was heroic. This work became one of the most famous pieces of revolutionary propaganda.

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