Rethinking Jacques-Louis David’s Marat assassiné through material evidences

Abstract

Marat assassiné (Murdered Marat), one of the most famous masterpieces painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1793 has been investigated in situ by means of non-invasive and complementary analytical and imaging techniques. The overall material and technical information collected on this occasion led to important discoveries on the iconic picture of the French revolution. Following the identification of the palette used by David, we have shown the relationship between Marat assassiné and another David’s painting. Features of David’s artistic practice have been explained. Drastic changes in the final composition have been shown and explained based on scientific analysis and historical information. Finally we have formulated a hypothesis about how Marat assassiné could have been concealed.