How does this artwork elucidate its Background?
The crowded and theatrical scene that David depicts takes place in a time of war, seemingly in Ancient Greece from the Greek temple and temperate mountains in the background. The setting is the mountain pass in which the Battle of Thermopylae was about to be fought, in 480 BCE. Thermopylae was chosen as an ideal location for waging a defensive action in view of its narrow passage through the mountainous geography. This helped the Greeks make a better stand against the numerically vastly superior Persians, who were invading Greece. King Leonidas, the Spartan leader, “delayed the invasion of Darius I and the Persians…by sacrificing himself and his men to give the Greeks the time they needed to organize an ultimately victorious resistance” in the long run. This act of bravery and sacrifice by King Leonidas and his three hundred soldiers inspired David as France waged its own campaigns against rival European powers that wanted to restore France's pre-revolutionary ancien régime. In 1813–14, when he finished the painting, European powers allied against the First French Empire were invading France to topple the emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, and David again found inspiration in the story of Leonidas at the Battle of Thermopylae.
Napoleon ancien régime King Leonidas First French Empire Leonidas Persians Sparta Battle of Thermopylae Darius I Napoleon Bonaparte Thermopylae Ancient Greece Spartan