Oath of the Horatii, Jacques-Louis David, 1784

            Another depiction of heroism is the Oath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David. David created this painting in 1784 before the French Revolution (“Oath of the Horatii”). Jacques-Louis David was a French painter in the Neo-classical style (“Jacques-Louis David”). This painting shows the three sons of Horatius as they give the Roman salute, and swear on their swords to protect Rome to the death. The main use of this piece was pre-French Revolution propaganda (“Oath of the Horatii”). The French government actually presented this piece to its people as propaganda in order to promote a sense of nationalism. They wanted the feeling of pride, duty, and loyalty that the Horatii brothers had for their city of Rome to transfer over to their own French people. Its purpose was to bring people together, and build loyalty for their country (in this case France).

                David created in order to inspire feelings of heroism and loyalty within the French people. There is more to this however. In this scene, the sons of Horatius are risking their lives in order to protect their home of Rome at all costs. Their serious demeanor shows that even the woeful and sobbing women do not affect their actions despite a very complicated situation. The complication of the situation is that two of these women are associated with the Curiatii, which is the family who is threatening Rome. One of these women is a sister of the Curiatii and married to a Horatii, while the other is a sister of a Horatii and married to a Curatii (“Oath of Horatii). Yet, despite everything, these men are also showing signs of true sacrifice; the type of sacrifice that brings about heroism. The sacrifice that these heroes made is evident. After the brothers defeat the Curiatii, they return home to find their mourning sister, who was engaged to one of the Curiatii, cursing Rome. Horrified by this, they had no choice but to slaughter her (“Oath of the Horatii”). Through this painting, David is truly attempting to give his people a sense of sacrifice. He is trying to promote loyalty and sacrifice for his country that will inevitably give rise to outstanding heroes during the French Revolution. This is David’s main purpose of for his painting.