David, Jacques

LOUIS, one of the most distinguished painters of France in modern times; B. at Paris, 1748. He went to Rome in 1775, returned to Paris in 1780, and in 1783 he was elected a member of the French Academy of Painting; his presentation picture was And rom ache deploring the Death of Hector. D. now visited Rome, and painted his celebrated picture there, The Oath of the Horatii. He then returned to France, and executed some great works for Louis XVI.; but this did not prevent his voting for the death of the king, as a member of the National Convention, in 1792. His strong republican spirit was further shown in the representation of two exciting political subjects at this time, The Death of Lepelletier, and The Death of Marat; but personal dangers, and other party difficulties, finally induced D. to give up politics entirely for the arts, to which, during his short political influence, he had been of considerable service. He became in a few years the favorite painter of the emperor Napoleon, and his principal works have direct reference to Napoleon's eventful career. At the restoration of the Bourbons, however, in 1815, D. was banished, and retired to Bru els, where he survived his exile ten years. D. was an excellent draughtsman, after the ideal of the Greeks, but his imitation amounted to the servile; and the majority of his naked figures are of such rigid uniformity of character, that they appear to be painted rather from ancient marbles than from nature. He completed the revolution in taste commenced by Vien, and antique mannerism was carried to exce by Guérin, and some others of his principal scholars. D. 1825. Da'vid, FÉLICIEN CESAR, a distinguished musical composer, B. in Vaucluse, France, in 1810. He studied his art at the Conservatoire under Cherubin i, and in 1844, after three years' travel in the East, produced his Melo dies Orient a les, which achieved succe throughout Europe. This was followed by his ode The Desert, and by a few romances, of which Les Hi rondelles is the most popular. The opera of Chris top he Colomb next met a flattering reception by the public, and D.'s celebrity was further sustained by the comic operas La Perle du Brésil and Lalla Rookh , and by the grand opera Hercu laneum. The latter was brought out in 1859. D. 1876. Da'vid, (d'Angers,) JEAN PIERRE, a celebrated French sculptor, B. at Angers, 1789. From his earliest years he showed a predilection for art; and, after his preliminary studies were finished, he came to Paris, where he found favor with his namesake, the great painter, who was then all-powerful at the Tuileries, and by whose counsels his studies were regulated. In 1811 his relievo, The Death of Epa min on das , won him the first prize for sculpture in the School of Arts, and along with it a pension, to finish his artistic education in Italy. In 1826 he became member of the Institute and profe or at the School of Arts; in 1828 he went to Weimar, where he modelled Gæthe's bust, which, executed in marble, has found a place, since 1831, in the grand-ducal library at Weimar. In 1834 he made his second tour through Germany, modelling on his way, at Munich, Schelling -at Dresden, Tieck -and at Berlin, Rauch. From 1835 to 1837 he was busy with his sculptures for the Pantheon, the great work of his life. His monuments of the great men of France are almost innumerable. In 1848 he was member of the Constituent A embly. D. 1856. Da'vids burgh, in Pennsylvania, a village of Blair co., about 125 m. W. of Harris burg. Da'vids burgh, in Pennsylvania , a P. O. of York co. Da'vids on, JOHN, an Irish traveller, B. at Dublin, and murdered in an attempt to reach Timbuctoo, 1836. Davidson, LUCRETIA MARIA, an American poete , B. at Plattsburg, 1808. It is said that at the remarkably early age of 4 years she began to write verses, and as she grew up, she continued to cultivate her fine poetical talents. In 1823 she finished her longest poem, Imir Khan , which, together with her other productions, was published, after her death, by Mi Sedgwick, and spread her name far and wide. D. of consumption, 1825.