''Minerva Fighting Mars'' (''Combat de Mars contre Minerve'') is a 1771 painting by

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away f ...

, now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

History

David produced the painting to compete for the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

of 1771. For the competition, he and the seven other participating artists were assigned the task of painting a new work in 10 weeks on a set subject, which that year was the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Ody ...

''. David lost that year to

Joseph-Benoît Suvée Joseph-Benoît Suvée (3 January 1743 – 9 February 1807) was a Flemish painter strongly influenced by French neo-classicism. Biography Suvée was born in Bruges. Initially a pupil of Matthias de Visch, he came to France aged 19 and bec ...

, finally winning on his fourth attempt in 1774 with ''

Erasistratus Discovering the Cause of Antiochus' Disease ''Erasistratus Discovering the Cause of Antiochus' Disease'' (french: Érasistrate découvrant la cause de la maladie d’Antiochius dans son amour pour Stratonice) is a 1774 oil painting by French neoclassical artist Jacques-Louis David. The wor ...

''.

Context

David does not obtain the Prize which was attributed to Suvée, and the Combat of Mars against Minerva was harshly criticized by Vien who would have prevented the prize from being attributed to David. David will finally obtain this Prize on his fourth attempt, in 1774 with the Illness of Antiochus. Jacques Louis David then felt a real disgust for the academy, which he considered to be a dishonest and dusty institution.

References

Bibliography

*Régis Michel and Marie-Catherine Sahut, ''David, l'art et le politique'', Paris, Gallimard, coll. «

Découvertes Gallimard (, ; in United Kingdom: ''New Horizons'', in United States: ''Abrams Discoveries'') is an Collection (publishing), editorial collection of Book illustration, illustrated monographic books published by the Éditions Gallimard in Pocket edition, ...

» (n° 46), 1988 ()

External links

Cartelfr.louvre.fr
Mythological paintings by Jacques-Louis David 1771 paintings Angels in art Paintings in the Louvre by French artists Paintings of Minerva Paintings of Mars (mythology) {{18C-painting-stub