Madame David

Madame David is an intimate oil on canvas portrait created by the seminal French Neoclassical master Jacques-Louis David in 1813. This masterful piece, executed during the period from 1801 to 1825, depicts the artist’s second wife, Marguerite-Charlotte Pécoul, reflecting a shift toward domestic subjects late in David’s career, following the height of his political engagement and grand public commissions.

The painting demonstrates David’s characteristic precision and technical refinement, applied here to an introspective portrait rather than an epic history scene. The composition is focused entirely on the sitter, whose expression is contemplative and reserved. David uses a subdued palette, emphasizing the texture of her lace cap and dark garments against a simple, undifferentiated background. This technique draws the viewer’s attention directly to her face, executed with meticulous clarity and subtle modeling that captures her individual presence.

While the prevailing artistic trends of the early 1810s began to lean toward Romanticism, David maintained the formal rigor and exacting standards of the Neoclassical tradition in this work. The canvas serves as a quiet contrast to the monumental, often didactic paintings for which the artist is primarily remembered. However, the quality of light and the psychological depth achieved in the piece confirm David's enduring mastery as a portraitist.

This important example of French painting provides valuable insight into the personal life of one of Europe’s most influential artists. The work is classified as an oil on canvas painting and currently resides in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art. As this historical image ages, high-resolution reproductions and prints of the piece are increasingly entering the public domain, allowing scholars and enthusiasts worldwide to study the subtle genius of David’s late style.