
by Jacques-Louis David, 1784
Jacques-Louis David painted The Oath of the Horatii in 1784, depicting a Roman legend in which three brothers pledge to fight for Rome against three champions from rival Alba Longa. Their father holds three swords as the sons reach forward to swear their oath. Women weep on the right, knowing that blood ties connect both families.
David created the painting in Rome, deliberately adopting a severe Neoclassical style to reject the frivolity of Rococo art. The stark architectural setting, rigid geometric composition, and restrained palette emphasized civic virtue and masculine duty. It caused a sensation at the 1785 Salon.
Though painted before the French Revolution, the themes of patriotic sacrifice and republican virtue made it a symbol of radical ideals. David later became the revolution's official painter. The work hangs at the Louvre, where it remains a landmark of Neoclassical painting and a turning point in European art.

Ancient Roman (Unknown), -100
Louvre, Paris, Paris

Gerard ter Borch
Louvre, Paris, Paris

Jacques-Louis David
Louvre, Paris, Paris

Bernardino Luini
Louvre, Paris, Paris
Other masterpieces from the Neoclassicism movement

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 1814
Louvre, Paris, Paris

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1783
Château de Versailles, Versailles, Versailles

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 1862
Louvre, Paris, Paris

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1782
National Gallery, London

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Musée Ingres, Montauban, Montauban

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Musée Condé, Chantilly, Chantilly

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Louvre, Paris, Paris

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Musée Ingres, Montauban, Montauban
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