In 1793 – the year David painted “The Death of Marat” – the French Revolution, which began four years earlier, was in full swing, and the country was experiencing a turbulent moment characterized by increased political violence. During this time, the Jacobin revolutionaries sought to regulate the prices of essential goods and implement laws that would make it easier for small peasants to access land. Meanwhile, outside France, the country was engaged in wars against Prussia, Austria, and Great Britain, who feared the violence and influence of the Revolution.

In January 1793, King Louis XVI lost his head to the guillotine, executed by Jacobin revolutionaries led by Maximilien de Robespierre. David and Jean-Paul Marat were colleagues of Robespierre and supported the king's decapitation. The guillotine became a popular method for eliminating political threats – real or imagined – to the Jacobin government.

Six months after the execution of the king, Marat was assassinated in his bathtub by Charlotte Corday, a sympathizer of the Girondins. With the painting “The Death of Marat,” created in the neoclassical style, David transformed his friend into a martyr. This decision is significant because, as demonstrated by his death, Marat was a central and controversial figure during the revolutionary period, working alongside some of the most radical voices of the time.