Oath of the Horatii it was painted nearly four years before the revolution in France, "The Oath of the Horatii" became one of the defining images of the time. In the painting, the three brothers express their loyalty and solidarity with Rome before battle, wholly supported by their father. These are men willing to lay down their lives out of patriotic duty. With their resolute gaze and taut, outstretched limbs, they are citadels of patriotism. They are symbols of the highest virtues of Rome. Their clarity of purpose, mirrored by David's simple yet powerful use of tonal contrasts, lends the painting, and its message
French Revolution from the summer of 1790 to the establishment of the Legislative Assembly the law, and the king"; the king and the royal family actively participated in the celebrations, which went on for several days. The members of the Estates-General had originally been elected to serve for a single year. By the Tennis Court Oath, the "communes" (representatives of the Third Estate) had bound themselves to meet continuously until France had a constitution, a goal which had not yet been achieved in the course of a year. Right-wing elements, such as the abbé Jean-Sifrein Maury, argued for a new election—by each of the three estates, separately—hoping that the events of the last year