Appreciation to The Death of Marat

The Death of Marat was a famous painting of David. David showed sympathy for the revolution and had close friendship with Marat. Just a few days before the assassination, he also visited Marat and saw Marat working in the bathtub, “There is a wooden box beside the bathtub with the bottle of ink and paper on the top. Outside the bathtub, his hands are writing about the people's welfare plan.” Once Marat’s death was known, David had begun to create this painting. He believed that it was beneficial to people to show the scene which the deceased worked for the public. The painting deeply moved people for its simplicity and purity. In addition to the calm people, white towels, green cloth and yellow wooden box, there were not too many cumbersome images. The composition was pressed very lowly, and the upper black occupied the large area, creating a solemn and serious atmosphere. Marat seemed to be sleeping whose hands were still holding the quill and a pending application form waiting for signed. It wrote, “In July 13, 1793, Marie Anna Charlotte Corday to citizen Marat: I was very unfortunate hoping to get your charity, that's enough.” Among them, Marie Anna Charlotte Corday was the name of the assassin.    

Some details on the wooden box were worthy of note, where stood the ink bottle, quill, a few paper money and a note said: “Please put these five francs notes to a mother of five children, her husband gave up his life for his motherland.” No matter what the reality was, all of these were obviously carefully arranged by the painter who intended to set off the sin of murder through morality and appeal of the personality. As a souvenir, the painter wrote two words on the box: “For Marat, David.” Since this was a painting themed by death, let us have a look at how the author depicted the death itself. Like the witness of the scene, the painter recorded the murder scene. Even today, it still gave people a solidified impression. In the quiet and serene atmosphere, a wound under Marat’s clavicle and the dagger falling in the bathtub were the reminder of the assassination. Blood was still dripping and incarnadined the water in the pool. Set off by the void and heavy black background, a beam of light shoot into the victim whose head was laying one side and arms dropping. This was quite similar to a sculpture of the Renaissance master Michelangelo's Mourning of Christ. Although it had lost the life consciousness, its body still had a noble beauty.    

The painter intended to show Marat's death as a Christian saint to make his death with the unusual meaning. His death was for the good and the general welfare. After the completion of the painting, David submitted The Death of Marat to the national assembly meeting held on November 14, 1793. As a painting, it successfully created a revolutionary leader who could win the sympathy of many people. But in the reality, people still found it controversial for Marat’s actions. He had aggressive rhetoric and behaved provocative. Revolutionary fervor often replaced the rational analysis. The violence and terror measures took by the Jacobin party for the old aristocracy and the opposition parties were not unrelated to Marat's initiative. Politics could not be simply summarized good, bad, or evil. Especially when caught in a struggle in the whirlpool, just and proper extent expression was not an easy thing. Different position would lead to a different way of looking at the problem. Fortunately, however, The Death of Marat did not get out of fashion because of the collapse of the Jacobins, for it went beyond the characters and events themselves and became a memorial and an ideal.