ion and the personal painter to famous political leaders such as Napoleon. This Neo-Classical style would dominate European art for almost a half-century. A painting considered by some to be the one that links him most clearly to modern painting, is the martyr portrait of Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat. It shows a graphic picture of him dead in his bath after being stabbed by Charlotte Corday. Obviously David was a supporter of the Robespierre, and as his work progressed through his career his subjects he painted became more modern and political. He spent a good amount of the Revolution at Napoleon's side, with brush in hand. David became his court painter and created several grand canvasses of the emperor, including the heroic "Napoleon Bonaparte Crossing the Alps (1801), and the enormous "Coronation of Napoleon and Josephine". Another famous Napoleon painting David is well known for is "Napoleon in his Study", with its famous image of Napoleon with one hand tucked inside his vest. This is often used as a stereotypical "crazy" symbol. Which is somewhat true, for the politics and drama of the Revolution bred within David a certain madness. Not only was he the personal painter of Napoleon, but he was also appointed to the Committee of General Security in 1793. This madness gave him the ability to sign off people to their deaths. A power which he in fact used when he sent nearly 300 arrested individuals to be guillotined. Throughout his entire career, David was a truly prolific portraitist. They were smaller in scale, yet more intimately human than his larger works. This aspect shows his great amount of technical mastery and understanding of character. Most modern critics see these as his finest work, since they are free from the moralizing messages and sometimes stilted technique of some of his previous neo-classical pieces. His career is basically a transition from the rococo of the 18th century to the realism of the 19...
