LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Jean-Paul Marat: Jean Paul Marat
built 117 days ago
Jean Paul Marat was born in Boudry, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, on May 24, 1743, the son of lower-middle-class parents. Of his early years very little is known. He acquired a medical education and for some years was a successful physician in both England and France. He ... conducted scientific experiments in the fields of optics and electricity. But failure to achieve what he considered to be proper recognition for this work left him with a feeling of persecution.
Source:
As mentioned by others, this painting depicts the infamous murder of Jean Paul Marat by Charlotte Corday. This event has been extensively represented in art, writings, and films (a la Peter Weiss-Peter Brooks's Marat/Sade). This composition is akin to Jacques Louis David's "The Death Of Marat." Portrayed as an aftermath of Marat's murder... David's painting is different stylistically and formalistically. Munch's painting centers on a wide range of vivid colours and his use of line is more rigorous. Not to say that Munch's composition is better than David's considering that it is more modernistic and would appeal more to a younger audience.
Source:
The article presents information about the book Jean Paul Marat: His Career in England and France Before the Revolution, written by Sidney L. Phipson. Disregarding the findings of the best biographers of Marat, a revolutionary, and basing his exposition chiefly on some quotations from various numbers of Notes and Queries, Mr. Phipson, with more industry than discretion, with more ingenuity than care, has revived the old legend of the criminality of Marat before the French Revolution. He is fully aware that all of the charges against Marat have been thoroughly refuted.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Jean Paul Marat