The Anger of Achilles

David's The Anger of Achilles of 1819, painted in Brussels exile, returns to the Iliad scene he had depicted in his Prix de Rome competition entry, but with radically different spirit — warmer in color, more operatically emotional, showing Achilles's fury at learning Iphigenia is to be sacrificed. The late work demonstrates the transformation David's style underwent in exile, the austere Republican neoclassicism of his Brutus and Horatii giving way to a more sensual and emotionally expressive approach influenced by the Flemish and Venetian paintings he encountered in Brussels and Italian travels.

David employs bold, theatrical gestures and a classical architectural setting to dramatize the confrontation. The sharp outlines and sculptural modeling of the figures demonstrate his undiminished command of academic technique in his seventh decade.