The Surviving Horatian

first half 19th century

Not on view

The Danish painter Eckersberg spent a year in Paris (1811–12) at the studio of Jacques Louis David, where he completed his training as a history painter. This drawing offers a coda to David’s celebrated painting of 1784–85, "The Oath of the Horatii," as it depicts the sole survivor of the legendary Roman battle between the Horatii and the Curatii triplets. The surviving Horatian sheathes his sword after mercilessly killing his sister for weeping over the death of her fiancé, one of the slain Curatians. The drawing’s precise contour lines and restrained use of wash are exemplary of Eckersberg’s early Neoclassical style.

Artwork Details

Title: The Surviving Horatian
Artist: Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (Danish, Blåkrog 1783–1853 Copenhagen)
Date: first half 19th century
Medium: Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash; framing lines in pen and black ink, by the artist
Dimensions: sheet: 9 1/4 x 12 5/8 in. (23.5 x 32 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Harry G. Sperling Fund, 2009
Object Number: 2009.397
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

In the same medium

From the same time and place

A Section of the Via Sacra, Rome (The Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian), Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg Danish, Oil on canvas — A Section of the Via Sacra, Rome (The Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian)
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg
ca. 1814–15

View of Dyrehaven, Johan Thomas Lundbye Danish, Pen and brown and gray ink, gray wash, over a light sketch in graphite; framing line in pen and brown ink, by the artist — View of Dyrehaven
Johan Thomas Lundbye
1838

The Parade, Si Lewen American, Manufactured charcoal, pencil, crayon, ink, scratching, and hand applied gesso on paperboard — The Parade
Si Lewen
ca. 1950

Sailing Vessels at Wilders Plads, Copenhagen, Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg Danish, Pen and black ink with brush and brown and gray wash — Sailing Vessels at Wilders Plads, Copenhagen
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg
1830

View of Charlottenborg Palace in Copenhagen with the Old Botanical Garden and Figures, Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg Danish, Pen and gray ink, brush and gray wash, over graphite; an incised construction line at lower left — View of Charlottenborg Palace in Copenhagen with the Old Botanical Garden and Figures
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg
ca. 1838–41

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