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French ArtRevolution and RestorationFrench Art Revolution and Restoration The middle of the 18th century saw a turn to Neoclassicism in France, which is a conscious use of Greek and Roman forms and iconography. In painting, the greatest representative of this style is Jacques Louis David who, mirroring the profiles of Greek vases, emphasized the use of the profile. David's subject matter often involved classical history such as the death of Socrates or Brutus. The dignity and subject matter of his paintings were greatly inspired by Nicolas Poussin of the 17th century. The "Louis XVI style" of furniture tended toward circles and ovals in chair backs, chair legs were grooved and Greek inspired iconography was used as decoration. The French neoclassical style would greatly contribute to the monumentalism of the French Revolution, as typified in the structure of the La Madeleine Church, begun in 1763 and finished in 1845, which is in the form of a Greek temple and the mammouth Panth�on, built during 1764-1812, which today houses the tombs of great Frenchmen.
The rationalism and simplicity of classical architecture was seen, in the age of Enlightenment, as the antithesis of the backward-looking Gothic. Greek and Roman subject matters were often chosen to promote the values of republicanism. One also finds paintings glorifying the heroes and martyrs of the French Revolution, such as David's painting of the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, a student of David's who was also influenced by Raphael and John Flaxman, would maintain the precision of David's style while also exploring other mythological and oriental subjects in the spirit of Romanticism. Artists of the Period
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