The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons

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The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons
David Brutus.jpg
Artist Jacques-Louis David
Year 1789
Type oil on canvas
Dimensions 323 cm × 422 cm (127 in × 166 in)
Location Louvre

The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons (French: Les licteurs rapportent à Brutus les corps de ses fils) is a 1789 painting by the French painter Jacques-Louis David in the Neo-Classical manner.

The work is housed in the Louvre in Paris.


The painting depicts Lucius Junius Brutus, the Roman leader, grieving for his sons. Brutus's sons had attempted to overthrow the government and restore the monarchy, so the father ordered their death to maintain the republic. Thus, Brutus was the heroic defender of the republic, at the cost of his own family. On the right, the Mother holds her two daughters, and the servant is seen on the far right, in anguish. Brutus sits on a klismos on the left, alone, brooding, but knowing what he did was best for his country. The whole painting was a Republican symbol, and obviously had immense meaning during these times in France.

Note Brutus' tense, crossed feet in the picture, the sharp scissors that lay dead in the center of the painting, and the use of light and dark to draw a distinction between Brutus and his wife. Brutus does not even look back as his headless sons are brought into the room.[1]


  1. ^ Schama, Simon. BBC documentary series: The Power of Art.

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