Portrait of Pierre Sériziat

David painted his brother-in-law in 1795, and the calm of the picture hides a hard year. As the great artist of the Revolution, David had voted to execute the king and stood close to Robespierre. When Robespierre fell in 1794, David was arrested and spent months in prison. Released and out of politics, he went to stay with his wife's relatives in the countryside and painted this pair of portraits of Pierre Sériziat and his wife Emilie as a kind of thank-you. Pierre sits easily on a rock in the open air, in fresh riding clothes with his hat and gloves, a healthy young landowner against a bright sky. After years of stern Roman heroes and revolutionary martyrs, David here simply painted a relative enjoying a fine day in the country.