Oath of the Horatii
1784 · Oil on canvas · Musée du Louvre, Paris
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About this work
- Artist
- Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825)
- Year
- 1784
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 330 × 425 cm
- Collection
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Movement
- Neoclassicism
Three brothers stretch their arms toward the swords their father holds, swearing to fight the Curiatii of Alba for Rome even though the two families are bound by marriage; on the right their sister and the wife of one brother collapse in grief, knowing someone they love must die. David painted the enormous canvas in Rome in 1784 and 1785, choosing an episode from Livy that was then on the Paris stage, and showed it first in his studio there, then at the Salon of 1785, where it caused a sensation. Everything is pared to the essential: three Doric arches, a bare floor, a shallow stage, straight male lines against the soft curves of the women, with the swords at the exact centre. The painting was a royal commission, but after 1789 it was read as a manifesto of revolutionary sacrifice, and it fixed the look of Neoclassical history painting for a generation.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Three warriors saluting raised swords beneath grey arches, with red, white and steel against stone, for a study, hallway or dining room at 32×24 in black. Stone grey, taupe or dark green walls match its austerity; pair it with The Death of Socrates.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Neoclassicism painting
- Era
- 18th century (1784)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- dining room, hallway or entryway, study or library, living room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 32×24. Prints at 16×12, 24×18, 32×24 in — 16×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×18 above a console or sideboard; 32×24 as the statement piece above a sofa or headboard.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — natural wood flatters the lighter palette; black sharpens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Oath of the Horatii in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Oath of the Horatii painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
