David produced the painting to compete for the
Prix de Rome of 1771. For the competition, he and the seven other participating artists were assigned the task of painting a new work in 10 weeks on a set subject, which that year was the
Iliad. David's painting was awarded the second prize as the Prix de Rome was given to
Joseph-Benoît Suvée. In 1774, David finally won the competition on his fourth attempt with ''
Erasistratus Discovering the Cause of Antiochus' Disease''. ==See also==