Oath of the Horatii

Oath of the Horatii is Jacques-Louis David’s Neoclassical masterpiece, painted on the eve of the French Revolution. Three Roman brothers swear an oath to their father to defend Rome against the rival city of Alba, while the women of the family collapse in sorrow. The sharp contrasts, archaeological austerity, and crystalline light made it the rallying cry of Neoclassicism and a political icon of civic duty.