Jacques-Louis David
Portrait of Antoine and Marie-Anne Lavoisier
From $80
This painting is built on a hard white light against a dark prison wall, and a dull copy turns the robes muddy and the wall flat. We graded our David Death of Socrates print side by side with the original, keeping his clear reds and cool whites strong and the shadows deep, so the scene reads across a room the way it did at the Salon of 1787.
Canvas, framed or paper
Stretched canvas. Printed on cotton canvas and stretched taut over a frame. The edges are mirror-wrapped, so the picture continues around the sides and none of it is lost to the fold.
Framed canvas. The same canvas, set in a black, white, natural wood or dark wood frame 0.83 in deep. The frame gives the work a finished edge and a little more presence on the wall.
Framed print. Printed on fine art matte paper and framed in solid pine, behind shatterproof plexiglass, in black, white, natural wood or dark wood. It arrives ready to hang. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame.
Fine art print. Printed on 310gsm fine art matte paper, for framing your own way. It travels rolled and protected. From 18x24 inch.
Sizes
18x12 inch, 24x16 inch, 30x20 inch, 36x24 inch. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.
On your wall
Its long shape sits well above a sofa, a desk or a library sideboard, and at 36x24 inch it carries a study or a dining room alone. The reds and blue-whites look striking with charcoal, oxblood and walnut, and a black or dark wood frame keeps it serious.
About the painting
The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David
Paris, 1787
Jacques-Louis David was the most talked-about painter in Paris. A young aristocrat named Trudaine paid him 10,000 livres for this picture. The story comes from Plato: in 399 BCE, Athens condemned the philosopher Socrates to die by drinking hemlock, and he spent his last day talking with his friends.
One hand for the cup
Socrates sits up on his bed in white. One hand reaches for the cup, and the other points upward, because he is still making his argument. A poet friend of David’s suggested that idea. The young man passing the cup cannot look, and covers his face. At the foot of the bed sits Plato, painted as an old man, though he was young when Socrates died.
Neoclassicism
David borrowed the poses and the folds of the robes from ancient Greek sculpture, then lit the figures like a stage. He signed it twice: his initials under Plato, his full name under Crito, who holds Socrates’ knee. It beat a rival’s painting of the same scene at the Salon, and Thomas Jefferson admired it. Seven years later, the men who paid for it lost their lives in the Revolution.
Read the story
Jacques-Louis David once painted a man in the last minutes of his life. And the strange thing is, the man is still teaching.
It's Paris, 1787. David is nearly forty, and the most talked-about painter in France.
A young nobleman pays him ten thousand livres for one picture: the death of Socrates.
Long ago, Athens had sentenced the old philosopher to die by drinking poison.
His friends came to spend his last day with him, and he spent it the way he spent every day, talking and asking questions.
David sets the scene in a bare stone cell, with a hard light falling across it.
Socrates sits up on his bed in white. One hand reaches for the cup of poison. The other points up, because he hasn't finished his argument.
That idea came from a poet friend of David's: let him reach for the cup while he's still talking.
The young man holding out the cup can't bear to watch. At the foot of the bed, Plato sits with his head bowed.
When the picture is shown in Paris, people crowd in to see it, and Thomas Jefferson admires it.
Two years later, the Revolution begins. Seven years later, the young man who paid for this painting is sent to the guillotine.
The painting outlives him.
Look at that raised hand. He still has one more thing to say.
The Death of Socrates. Jacques-Louis David, 1787.
How each piece is brought to life
Faithful to the original, and made to be felt on your wall.
Graded against the original
We compare every work with the original as we grade it, keeping the artist’s colours true while bringing back their depth and glow. Every mark stays the artist’s own.
Printed for you
Printed to order on cotton canvas or fine art paper, then framed if you chose a frame, in 1 to 3 business days.
On your wall
It arrives 5 to 12 business days later, tracked and free anywhere in the US. Framed pieces come ready to hang.
Questions
Is this the original painting?
No. The original hangs in a museum. What you receive is a fine art reproduction, remastered from the original and printed for you, with every mark where the artist left it.
Will the colour look flat?
This is where most reproductions disappoint, and it is where we spend the most time. Each work is graded side by side with the original: faithful to the artist’s colours, with the depth and warmth brought back, so it moves you on the wall the way it was meant to. Canvas reads a touch softer than a backlit screen, and every screen shows colour a little differently.
Will the edges be cropped?
Each size is a standard frame size, so we fit the painting by trimming a little from its edges. We never stretch or squash it, and we check every size by eye so no face, figure or signature is cut. On canvas the edges are mirror-wrapped, which keeps the whole picture on the front.
Which size is right for my wall?
Aim for about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it. Over a sofa or a sideboard, one of the two largest sizes will hold the wall. The size guide lists every size in inches and centimetres, with the kind of wall each one suits.
How long does it take?
Your piece is printed in 1–3 business days, then spends 5–12 business days in transit, tracked all the way. Delivery is free anywhere in the US. We are unable to deliver to PO boxes.
What if it arrives damaged?
Send us a photograph and we will remake it and send it again. There is nothing to return.
Can I return it?
Yes, within 30 days of delivery. Our returns policy has the details.
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Printed to order
Graded against the original, then printed for you on cotton canvas or fine art paper in 1–3 business days.
The whole painting
Every mark is the artist’s own, and canvas edges are mirror-wrapped so the whole picture stays on the front.
Free US shipping
On every order, tracked, 5–12 business days in transit.
30-day returns
Returns and exchanges within 30 days of delivery.
