Jacques-Louis David of France and Francisco Goya of Spain took their place in history on radically divergent paths in the turbulent age of revolution that marked the late 18th and early 19th centuries. While David’s Neoclassical compositions served to elevate imperial authority and reinforce state power, Goya crafted unflinching chronicles of human suffering that condemned violence and exposed the brutal realities of tyranny. It is a compelling study in contrast: the painter as propagandist… versus the painter as witness.
Through epic works like The Oath of the Horatii (1784), The Death of Socrates (1787), and The Death of Marat (1793), Jacques-Louis David emerged as a leading figure during the French Revolution, aligning himself with the radical Jacobins and later becoming the official painter of Napoleon Bonaparte. His career seemed to mirror the rise of centralized power in France—from revolutionary fervor to imperial dominance. David aligned his talent with the machinery of state power, producing works that shaped public sentiment and legitimized authority.
Francisco Goya, meanwhile, began his career under the relatively enlightened rule of Charles III and Charles IV of Spain. He was appointed Director of the Royal Academy in 1795, then became the Prime Court Painter, the highest rank for a Spanish court painter, in 1799. However, in 1808, his world was upended by the Napoleonic invasion of Spain, followed by brutal warfare and the restoration of absolutist rule under Ferdinand VII. Goya’s work, as both a painter and, perhaps more notably, as a printmaker, evolved in response to these traumas, reflecting the anguish of a nation torn apart by foreign occupation and internal discord.
David’s paintings were designed to elevate and mythologize power. His Napoleon Crossing the Alps (1801) presents the French leader as a fearless, almost divine figure, the embodiment of heroic, masculine perfection astride a rearing horse complete with windswept cape and commanding gesture. It is a fantastical piece of pure propaganda—Napoleon actually crossed the Alps on a mule. Contemporary critics lamented its departure from realism, calling out its obvious purpose as propaganda. A few years later, Napoleon’s dutiful court painter spent three years capturing the pomp of imperial ceremony with meticulous detail and classical composition in The Coronation of Napoleon (1807). Critics immediately noted the contradiction with his earlier revolutionary works. Now the subject worthy of an enormous 20 x 33-foot canvas, Napoleon crowns himself, the symbolic gesture of his self-made nature, free from papal authority at last. Here he is literally another face in the crowd, but no less the center of attention. From the majestic heights of the granite pillars to the ever so slightly wrinkled carpet surrounding the throne, David imbues the scene with grandeur to glorify an empire.
While David regaled Napoleon with fawning tributes, Goya was crafting a series of satirical etchings to mock the ignorance, superstition, and corruption of Spanish society. After witnessing the horrors of the Peninsular War, Goya painted The Second of May 1808 (1814). A melee ensued when the French Imperial Guard were tasked with subduing Spanish citizens. Goya leads the eye to a knife wielding soldier in the grip of the crowd, his face laden with fear as he realizes he is about to be pulled from his horse. In The Third of May 1808 (1814), Goya painted a haunting depiction of French soldiers executing Spanish civilians. Guns raised, their backs to the viewer, the French are almost a unified form as they prepare to execute another set of unarmed, innocent civilians, one of which raises his arms in an unforgettable, defiant protest that has echoed through the ages.
Goya’s commentary on the conflict wasn’t reserved for canvas alone. Etched between 1810 and 1820, though not published until decades following his death, his Disasters of War series further documents the brutality of conflict. Rendered with unflinching honesty, his depictions of starvation, mutilation, assault, and despair in the wake of war, are unmatched before, or since, their creation.
David is remembered as the master of Neoclassical painting and a key figure in shaping the visual language of power. His influence extended to academic art and political portraiture for generations. Yet his close alignment with authoritarian regimes has led some to question the ethical dimensions of his work.
Because he dared to depict the darkness of his time through his work, Goya is considered a pioneer of social commentary. His courage in depicting suffering and injustice inspired creative movements and, critically, left a contemporaneous record of horrific events that speaks for the countless lives silenced by war and oppression.
Jacques-Louis David and Francisco Goya offer two distinct models of artistic engagement with power. David served it, crafting images that glorified rulers and reinforced authority. Goya questioned it, exposing the suffering of the oppressed and the horrors of war. Their work reminds us that stories depicted in paintings are never neutral—they can be a tool of an empire or a voice of conscience. In an age of upheaval, both painters left indelible marks on history, showing how creativity can either uphold or challenge the forces that shape our world.
View the latest episode of Light of the Masters for this look at two painters whose work spoke of the turmoil of their time, and has echoed through the ages.
