This is The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David. It might seem like just another drone, desaturated, old painting of some guy who really has it bad but it's actually a masterclass in manipulation and one of the most iconic paintings of the French Revolution.
We’re placed at the scene of the crime where we see Jean-Paul Marat’s lifeless body slumped over a bathtub. Marat suffered from a debilitating skin condition that left his body covered in itchy, inflamed sores. To ease his pain, he would spend hours soaking in a medicinal bath.
On the floor to the left of the painting lies the bloody knife used to stab Marat in the chest. The wound, just below his collarbone, is still open and bleeding and if we look at the letter in Marat's hand, we can see that his assassins name is Charlotte Corday.
Charlotte Corday was a 24-year-old woman from Normandy. She despised Marat because she saw him as the chief instigator of the revolutionary violence and political turmoil sweeping the nation. In her mind, eliminating him would stop the bloodshed, weaken the Jacobins power, and save France. At her trial, Charlotte Corday justified her murderous ways saying, “I have killed one man to save a hundred thousand.”
The beauty of The Death of Marat lies in its simplicity. There are no opulent details, no signs of wealth or privilege. David wanted Marat to appear as a man of the people—humble, hardworking, and selfless, tirelessly laboring for the greater good. Marat is depicted as a saintly figure, lying peacefully in his final moments. Many art historians draw parallels between this portrayal and other depictions of Christ. This was definitely deliberate on David's part, elevating Marat to a quasi-religious status—a savior of the Revolution.
Marat’s death was devastating for David who arrived at the crime scene shortly after the murder. He immediately began sketching the scene in real time, using firsthand observations and police reports to capture every detail. The artist even organized the late journalist's funeral.
The National Convention wasted no time commissioning David to immortalize Marat in paint—not just to honor him, but to turn his death into a powerful piece of propaganda. And David delivered.
Initially, the public thought positively of David’s painting. But it didn’t take long after Marat’s death for public perception of him to sour.
Many have raised doubts about David's motives, questioning how he could oppose the monarchy so strongly only to later endorse someone like Napoleon, who forcefully rose to power and made himself a tyrannical dictator. Though his revolutionary paintings were so raw and intense, which makes it difficult to believe that he didn't genuinely believe in it. Thanks for watching!
credits:
Distant Tension by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Divertissement by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Darkest Child by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Corncob - Country by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Smoke effect from Vecteezy