Which Jacques-Louis David painting depicts the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat?

The Jacques-Louis David painting depicting the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat is The Death of Marat.

David painted The Death of Marat in 1793, shortly after Marat was stabbed by Charlotte Corday on 13 July during the French Revolution. Marat was a radical journalist and political leader who often worked from a medicinal bath because of a chronic skin condition.

The image shows Marat slumped in the bath, still holding a letter, with his writing board and knife nearby. David transformed the violent political murder into an austere image of martyrdom, using simplified forms, soft illumination, and a pose often compared with Christian images of the dead Christ.

The painting is powerful propaganda as well as a historical image, so it should not be treated as a literal snapshot. David beautified Marat’s diseased skin and invented or reshaped details, including the wording of the letter. The original is in Brussels; a studio replica is displayed at the Louvre.