David: la fabrique du génie

Uittreksel

All the French know the masterpieces of David: The oath of the Jeu de Paume and The Rite of Napoleon appear in their imaginary museum. These neo-classical works make David the great painter - the genius? - of the Revolution and the Empire. But how to be at one and the same time a companion of Robespierre at the Convention and a notable at the court of Napoleon? Why does the Tennis Court Oath remain unfinished? And how to become a genius? In the Age of Enlightenment, then during the French Revolution, to become a genius, one must be recognized as such by nascent public opinion and engage in the political struggle. David even passes for a prophetic artist: his paintings of the 1780s - The Oath of the Horatii, The lictors report to Brutus the bodies of his sons - do they not foreshadow the Revolution? But this myth of genius is also a construction to which David and his friends have contributed. This myth obscures his links with royal power and aristocracy before 1789, as well as the dark moments of his existence. The golden legend of David is opposed by a black legend: in the service of successive powers, he would be a weather vane. David's historical biography must go beyond these antagonistic legends to follow the personal experiences during a period marked by tremendous changes and terrible vicissitudes. This work is therefore an investigation into the career of an artistic and political actor and the engineering of the genius.