Ad Hoc

Welcome to Ad Hoc, our newest feature on the art of advertising. We are proud to welcome Dr. Richard Zakia as the author of this page each month. For December, Dr. Zakia continues his investigation of how advertising incorporates art.

This ad of a man in a bathtub profiles a painting by what important artist of the Neoclassicism period? (answer below)

1. Jean-Auguste Ingres

2. Anton Raphael Mengs

3. Jacques-Louis David

Richard D. Zakia is Professor Emeritus, Rochester Institute of Technology and author/coauthor of several books on photography, perception, semiotics and advertising.

Answer: The ad profiles the painting by the French artist Jacques-Louis David called "The Death of Marat". It was painted in 1793. Marat had to spend hours in the bathtub because of a skin problem. David honored this slain revolutionary leader with this image reminiscent of the dead Christ.

c. Corinne Whitaker 2013

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