Jacques-Louis David: Empire to Exile

This beautifully illustrated book, focusing on a selection of later paintings and drawings by Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825), is published to accompany the first major exhibition of the artist’s work in the United States. Organized by the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and the J. Paul Getty Museum, this exhibition of 27 paintings and 29 drawings is also the first to examine the transformation of David’s art during the post-Revolutionary period (1800–1825). Each of the works, many of which were previously unknown or inaccessible, is reproduced in color and accompanied by an entry with complete scholarly information.

Art historian Philippe Bordes establishes David’s position after the Terror and discusses the artist’s admiration for Napoleon Bonaparte, for whom he served as court painter. The book also investigates David’s new approach to antiquity in historical compositions and the avowed influence of the Flemish School on his practice. Drawing on many new documents and close analysis of the works featured in the book, Bordes offers a revised understanding of this deeply reactive artist and the creative output of his second career.

A landmark publication that sheds new light on the work of Jaques-Louis David, the most celebrated artist of his time

Library Journal

This lavishly illustrated book catalogs the exhibition of Jacques-Louis David's late, post-exile work. Now showing at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and appearing at the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA, this summer, this is the first comprehensive retrospective on the artist in the United States. One of the most celebrated painters of his era, David (1748-1825) was exiled to Brussels in 1816 as the result of his loyalty and work as court painter to Napoleon. Bordes (Univ. of Lyons), who has published extensively on the French Revolution, David, and his contemporaries, here sheds new light on David's later work, which was not even appreciated until the 1980s, when Dorothy Johnson (Univ. of Iowa) published several important works on history paintings and the Getty and the Kimball Art Museum acquired some of David's works. Featuring 27 paintings and 29 drawings from the exhibition, many of which were previously inaccessible, this is a very readable book for general audiences; a time line, index, extensive bibliography, and footnotes make it a solid scholarly apparatus as well. Owing to the steep price, however, it is recommended only for larger public and academic libraries, as well as specialized collections.-Nancy Mactague, Aurora Univ., IL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Philippe Bordes was founding director of the Musée de la Révolution Française in Vizille, France, from 1984 to 1996 and is currently professor of art history at the University of Lyon.