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The Clemency of Augustus (recto); Knight Restraining a Female Figure (verso)

ca. 1787–88
Not on view
Vincent’s pen-and-ink lines vibrate with an elegant muscularity in this compositional study for his 1787 painting The Clemency of Augustus. Like his contemporary Jacques Louis David, Vincent worked out the compositions of his history paintings by first drawing the figures nude. The declamatory poses of the figures reflect their dramatic pedigree, as the artist here depicts the concluding scene of Pierre Corneille’s 1641 play, Cinna.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Clemency of Augustus (recto); Knight Restraining a Female Figure (verso)
  • Artist: François André Vincent (French, Paris 1746–1816 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1787–88
  • Medium: Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over traces of red chalk; perspective lines in graphite (recto). Red chalk; squared in red chalk (verso).
  • Dimensions: 13 1/4 x 15 1/16 in. (33.7 x 38.3 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Harry G. Sperling Fund, 1985
  • Object Number: 1985.245.2
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Portrait of a Mother and Child, François André Vincent French, Black chalk, heightened with white chalk, over red chalk underdrawing, on beige paper
Portrait of a Mother and Child
François André Vincent
n.d.
Man Seated at a Keyboard Instrument, François André Vincent French, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash
Man Seated at a Keyboard Instrument
François André Vincent
1774
The Clemency of Augustus (Corneille, Cinna, V, 3), François André Vincent French, Pen and brown ink over red chalk, with traces of black chalk
The Clemency of Augustus (Corneille, Cinna, V, 3)
François André Vincent
ca. 1787–88
Venus and Adonis, François André Vincent French, Black chalk, heightened with white, over stumped charcoal, on beige paper
Venus and Adonis
François André Vincent
1778
Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew, after Mattia Preti, François André Vincent French, Brush and brown wash, over traces of graphite
Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew, after Mattia Preti
François André Vincent
Mattia Preti (Il Cavalier Calabrese)
ca. 1774

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