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Death of Marat II

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Laura Jones wrote on Dec 16, 2003:
Just cause
David's painting told a lie, as does Munch's. Jean-Paul Marat was a violent blood thirsty radical. His assassin, Charlotte Corday was a Girondin with revolutionary sympathies. She believed that Marat had orchestrated many of the massacres which led the french revolution astray. Though he is not the heroic martyr his friend portrayed him, David's Marat is none the less a brilliant painting. It captivates and expresses an incredible amount of emotion with an unparalleled elegance. No painting more completely defines the sentiment of an era. No such feeling can be interpreted in Munch's work. Though the imbalance of colour and movement in this painting is amusing, it is hard to see the symbolic or artistic merit.

Sofie wrote on Mar 18, 2002:
Feelings From A Woman's Perspective
Like many women I feel on and for the side of the young lady. I feel the helplessness of what she just did and the hopeless glance she wears. I feel for her impressionless stance and the way she looks directly at the viewer as to say that she doesn't really care what will happen to her, but she still fears it. I enjoy the colour of the painting, but find that it plays a secondary role. To me I feel that the content outweighs the message, for I sympathize with the subject matter, but on the behalf of the woman only. It is not because I am a woman also, but because I am human. My humanity makes me feel for the young woman's future, rather than for the evil dead man.

Daniel wrote on Oct 19, 2001:
David to Munch
As mentioned by others, this painting depicts the infamous murder of Jean Paul Marat by Charlotte Corday. This event has been extensively represented in art, writings, and films (a la Peter Weiss-Peter Brooks's Marat/Sade). This composition is akin to Jacques Louis David's "The Death Of Marat." Portrayed as an aftermath of Marat's murder, however, David's painting is different stylistically and formalistically. Munch's painting centers on a wide range of vivid colours and his use of line is more rigorous. Not to say that Munch's composition is better than David's considering that it is more modernistic and would appeal more to a younger audience. They are just different but yet they both exhibit great esthetic qualities.

Rob wrote on Apr 21, 2001:
What it means to me
If you know the story of Marat, you know that he was murdered in his bathtub by a woman who sent him a letter as a trick to get in, then she stabbed him to death. This painting to me shows the frustration of oppressed women, they are both naked showing that they are human, but it's such an impersonal nudity, Marat lies slain while the woman stands emotionless, accepting what she has done neither as bad nor good, wrong nor right, she just killed him, and that is all...

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Credits

Picture: Munch und Warnemünde 1907-1908.

Death of Marat I, 1907
Oil on canvas
150 x 200 cm