Portrait of Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac
Jacques Louis David·1790
Historical Context
David's Portrait of Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac of 1790 depicts one of the Convention's most prominent deputies — the man who became the mouthpiece of the Committee of Public Safety during the Terror, reading death sentences with unruffled calm. Barère's reputation as one of the Terror's most morally compromised figures was not yet established when David painted him, and the portrait captures a capable lawyer and orator at the beginning of his catastrophic career in revolutionary politics.
Technical Analysis
The lawyer-politician's features are captured with David's unflinching eye for character. The composition is spare and direct, with the dark coat and plain background typical of David's revolutionary portraiture, stripping away all aristocratic ornament to reveal the man beneath.
