Étude académique : Hector

October 1775 – July 1780

Pensionnaire at the French Academy in Rome

In October 1775 he left for Italy with his mentor Vien, who had just been appointed director of the French Academy in Rome; he studied Poussin, Caravaggio and the Carracci, filled twelve sketchbooks, and in July 1780, after his stay was extended by a year, returned to Paris.

1781

First Salon: “Belisarius Begging for Alms”

For “Belisarius” he was admitted on 24 August 1781 as an associate of the Academy of Painting and Sculpture; after the Salon the King granted him lodgings in the Louvre, a prized privilege of great artists.

17 September 1792

Elected a deputy to the National Convention

He was elected deputy for the Museum section of Paris and joined the Montagnards in the Convention.

16 – 19 January 1793

Votes for the death of Louis XVI

During the trial of Louis XVI he voted in the Convention for the king’s death; for this part in the execution he was later banished from France.

1794

The fall of Robespierre and the hemlock vow

As Robespierre was being arrested, David shouted that he would drink hemlock with him; he supposedly fell ill and stayed away from the evening session with “stomach pain,” which saved him from the guillotine.

2 August 1794 – 3 August 1795

Arrested after Robespierre’s fall

He was imprisoned twice, from 2 August to 28 December 1794 and from 29 May to 3 August 1795, spending most of the time in the not uncomfortable Palais du Luxembourg in Paris.