Which painting by Jacques-Louis David depicts three Roman brothers swearing an oath?

Jacques-Louis David’s painting of three Roman brothers swearing an oath is The Oath of the Horatii.

David painted the large canvas in Rome in 1784–1785 for the French royal administration. It presents a scene from Rome’s legendary early history: three Horatii brothers pledge themselves to fight three Curiatii brothers from Alba Longa, allowing a single combat to decide the outcome of a wider war.

The composition became a landmark of Neoclassicism. The brothers stand in a rigid, unified formation with arms extended toward the swords held by their father, while the women and children on the right form a contrasting group of grief and vulnerability. The painting therefore sets public duty and sacrifice against private sorrow.

A common mix-up is to identify the scene as a documented Roman historical event. The story comes from ancient literary accounts, especially Livy, and David invented the specific oath-taking moment. The canvas is also sometimes confused with David’s later Napoleonic portraits or with The Intervention of the Sabine Women.