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 exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. 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 24×36 in black. Stone grey, taupe or dark green walls match its austerity; pair it with The Death of Socrates.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Exhibition poster of a Neoclassicism painting
- Era
- 18th century (1784)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cream & beige
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- dining room, hallway or entryway, study or library, living room, dorm room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.
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
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
