Jacques-Louis David

Jacques-Louis David trained in Paris under Joseph-Marie Vien and won the Prix de Rome in 1774 after several failed attempts. His Oath of the Horatii traded Rococo charm for stern classical virtue and clear, sculptural drawing. A revolutionary deputy, he voted for the execution of Louis XVI, painted The Death of Marat, was jailed after Robespierre fell, then became Napoleon's painter. His pupils, among them Ingres and Gros, shaped French painting for a generation, though he died in exile in Brussels.