Art History With Allie: The Death of Marat

I thought I would share another work of art that I admire. This is "The Death of Marat" by David. I know, I know, you're probably rolling your eyes because I'm posting yet another grisly and morbid painting. Either that, or you're dialing some help line for people who are koo-koo crazy. But let me explain:

Don't you find this painting so striking? The romantic draping of all that fabric! The figure's pose, slumped back angelically, with such a face of martyrish (that's a word, I looked it up) serenity. And his body is quite idyllic; which is funny to me. David and Marat were friends. So obviously David wanted to paint Marat's death scene in an attractive way. But the truth is, Marat was not an attractive guy. He was actually super gross. He had this nasty skin condition that he'd contracted years earlier, when he was forced to hide from his enemies in the Paris sewers. GRODY. So that's why he was in the bath, to ease the violent itchings he was experiencing. Kind of sad.

But whatever, he was crazy. He was a key radical figure in the French Revolution (also known as the REIGN OF TERROR). Hey, I'm not saying that French democracy and freedom are bad, but things got a little out of hand, what with all the chopping off of heads. Anywho, Marat was BFFs with Robespierre, the guy who ended up being the poster child of the French Rev (Reign of Terror).

So who killed Marat? I'll tell you who: her name was Charlotte Corday. She believed that by killing Marat she would save many lives. And maybe she was right. Because again, a lot of people were being wrongfully executed at the hands of the revolutionary supporters. Corday blamed Marat for a huge massacre that took place in Paris (read about it, because it's pretty shocking).

Obviously, I'm Team Charlotte. I even wrote a poem about her for my senior year creative writing project! She's a fascinating person. And the above painting is a fascinating sign of that volatile and complicated time in history, in that part of the world. Fascinating... get a new adjective, Fraley!