Why it matters
Brutus, founder of the Roman Republic, sits alone and brooding while the bodies of his sons, whose deaths he ordered for plotting to restore the monarchy, are brought back; his wife holds their horrified daughters. Its themes of virtue and sacrifice resonated with the French Revolution.
Did you know?
- It was first exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1789.
- David worked on it for more than two years.
- His interest in Brutus dates back to The Oath of the Horatii.
Based on the Wikipedia article The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
