The New Student's Reference Work/David, Jacques Louis

David (dä-vēd′), Jacques Louis, a French painter, was born at Paris, Aug. 31, 1748.  Before the Revolution he had produced many celebrated works, among them the Oath of the Horatii and The Death of Socrates.  In the Revolution he took a prominent part; voted for the death of the king; was the artistic decorator of the great national fêtes of the Republic, which were founded on classical customs; and narrowly escaped with his life.  When the Bourbons were restored, he was banished to Brussels, where he died, Dec. 29, 1825.  His masterpiece, probably, is The Rape of the Sabines.