"The Oath of the Horatii" (1784), by Jacques-Louis David. GRANDPALAISRMN/MICHEL URTADO/PARIS/MUSÉE DU LOUVRE
Sébastien Allard, director of the Paintings Department at the Musée du Louvre, does not shy away from dark humor. During the presentation of the exhibition dedicated to Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), held to mark the bicentenary of the painter's death, he recalled that the last tribute paid to David by the Louvre took place in 1989 for another bicentenary, that of the French Revolution. "For David, it would probably have been more appropriate to celebrate him in 1793," he added. The remark was a nod to the year David, then a newly elected MP for Paris, voted for the execution of Louis XVI. Now, the former palace of the kings of France is celebrating a regicide.
Allard is one of the curators of the exhibition, along with Côme Fabre and Aude Gobet. The show features about 100 paintings and drawings, including major works from Brussels, where David sought refuge after the Restoration. Four paintings have been specially restored for the occasion: the Portrait of Juliette Récamier, which is strikingly vibrant, his unusual self-portrait, Andromache Mourning Hector, and Portrait of the Marquise d'Orvilliers.
