This painting by neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David depicts the death of Jean-Paul Marat, a French revolutionary leader. He was murdered by Charlotte Corday, a member of the Girondin political party, a direct enemy of the Montagnard party that Marat belonged to. Corday sneaked into his chamber while he bathed under the guise of a reporter and fatally stabbed him. In the months after, David, a fellow Montagnard, painted a perfectionist view that changed certain details from what actually took place, like leaving out Marat's skin condition, or not leaving the knife impaled in his chest as Corday had. It would at first be a rally cry for David's fellow party members against the Girondins until 1795, when it stayed in hiding until scholars rediscovered it in the middle of the 19th century, who appraised and revered the work.
The paper in Marat's hand reads "Citizen, my extreme misery suffices to give me a right to your benevolence." translated from French to English.
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