Visual analysis: The Death of Marat

Oil on canvas, about 165 × 128 cm (about 5 feet 5 inches × 4 feet 2 inches).

A man lies slumped in a bathtub, seen up close and parallel to the picture surface. His head, wrapped in a white cloth, tilts to one side; his eyes are closed and his face is calm.

His right arm hangs down over the side of the tub, still holding a quill pen. His left hand rests on a board covered with green cloth that lies across the tub, and holds a letter.

A small wound shows on his chest, below his collarbone. Blood stains the white sheet lining the tub, and a bloodied knife lies on the floor.

Beside the tub is a plain wooden crate used as a writing desk, holding an inkwell, a quill, a sheet of paper and a paper banknote. Painted on its front, like letters carved on a tombstone, are the words 'À MARAT, DAVID' ('To Marat, David') and 'L'AN DEUX' ('Year Two' of the new French Republic).

Strong light falls from the upper left onto the body and the sheet. The whole upper half of the canvas is an empty, dark, softly brushed background with no details.

The colors are mostly greens, browns, whites and dark tones. The outlines of the figure are crisp and his skin is smooth, with almost no visible brushstrokes on it.