Virgil Reading the Aeneid to Augustus, Livia, and Octavia
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres French
Not on view
With the purchase of this recently discovered sheet, the Museum gained an example of a fully finished compositional study for a classical subject by Ingres. Carefully wrought on blue paper to enhance the nocturnal effects, the drawing depicts the story of Virgil reading the Aeneid to the Roman emperor Augustus; his wife, Livia; and his sister Octavia. As the poet recites the words "Tu Marcellus eris" (Marcellus you shall be), Octavia faints into the emperor's lap. Marcellus is the name of her dead son, whose nude statue presides over the candle-lit scene. Reflecting the methods of his teacher, Jacques Louis David, Ingres infused his classical scenes with precise archaeological detail and carefully calibrated emotion.
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