''Minerva Fighting Mars'' (''Combat de Mars contre Minerve'') is an oil-on-canvas painting created in 1771 by the French artist

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

and now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

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'' (; , ; ) 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 ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

''. David's painting was awarded the second prize as the Prix de Rome was given to Joseph-Benoît Suvée. David believed that harsh criticism of his work by his teacher Joseph-Marie Vien had caused the prize to be awarded to an inferior painter, and became disgruntled with the academy, which he considered to be a dishonest institution. In 1774, David finally won the competition on his fourth attempt with '' Erasistratus Discovering the Cause of Antiochus' Disease''.Lee, S. "David, Jacques-Louis". Grove Art Online.

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) {{1770s-painting-stub

History

See also

References

Bibliography

External links