Study for the Execution of the Sons of Brutus 1785 - 1786

This is Jacques Louis David’s Study for The Execution of the Sons of Brutus, an unfinished drawing made in France likely in the 1780s. It depicts a scene from Roman history, where Brutus, one of the first consuls of the Roman Republic, orders the execution of his own sons for conspiring to restore the monarchy. The drawing is a preliminary sketch for a larger painting. By looking at David's image, we can speculate about the artist’s intentions, his political leanings, and his relationship to French society on the cusp of revolution. The story of Brutus was particularly resonant at a time when ideas about civic virtue and sacrifice for the greater good were circulating widely. The image raises questions about the conflict between public duty and private emotion, ideas that are important to understanding the social structures of pre-revolutionary France. Art historians consult contemporary political theory, literature, and theater, to better understand the values and anxieties that shaped David's work. The meaning of art is always contingent on its historical context.