Jacques-Louis David (French, 1748–1825)
Black chalk, pen and black and brown ink, brush and gray and brown wash, heightened with white gouache; 13 1/8 x 16 5/8 in. (33.2 x 42.1 cm)
Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Fund, 2006 (2006.264)
This recently discovered sheet is a composition study for one of David's most famous and influential paintings, The Lictors Bringing Brutus the Bodies of His Sons (1789; Musée du Louvre, Paris), commissioned by Louis XVI but publicly exhibited shortly after the fall of the Bastille.
The drawing depicts an episode from the story of Lucius Junius Brutus, who lived during the brutal regime of Tarquin, Rome's last king. To avenge the dishonor and suicide of Lucretia (who was raped by Tarquin's son), Brutus drove out the monarchy, only to later find his own two sons embroiled in a royalist conspiracy. Following his convictions, he ordered their execution. David first considered depicting the executions, but eventually chose instead the wrenching domestic aftermath.
Open full-size image
Related Index Terms
Art Movement/Style
Artist
Material and Technique
Technical Glossary
- • Black chalk
- • brown wash
- • gouache
- • Ink
- • Pen
