The magistrate Sériziat (1757–1847) was David’s brother-in-law and friend. The tone is informal, and the background deliberately appears unfinished – an extension of traditional technique, used in a novel manner. David rejected ’uniform finish on artistic and moral principles: high finish was unnecessary, carrying with it the suspicion of appealing to the senses, rather than the intellect. This is an early example of David’s spartan aesthetic, which would become more pronounced with time, as ’his view of Art was influenced by the politics of the French revolution and its calls for political and moral reform.
