The Death of Seneca is a 1773 oil-on-canvas painting by the French artist
Jacques-Louis David, now at the
Petit Palais in
Paris. It shows the suicide of
Seneca the Younger. With its
Boucher-like assembly of gesticulating figures, it was his third attempt to win the
Prix de Rome, but lost to a painting on the same subject by
Pierre Peyron. Peyron's had fewer details and a darker colour palette and was closer to the 'antique'. He was not only David's rival, but also initiated the new classicism which partly inspired David to produce his 1774 Erasistratus Discovering the Cause of Antiochus' Disease.
Description
This "
Fragonardian" grand opera by David[1] is at the same time baroque, elegant and pompous. Richer in color and detail than its rival, it depicts characters gesticulating in the style of Boucher. Seneca, opening his veins on the orders of Nero, has ample gestures, just like the characters in the audience who show their dread.
