The Grief of Andromache 1782 Black chalk, pen and ink with gray wash, 290 x 246 mm Mus?e du Petit Palais, Paris This is a preparatory drawing for his painting, in which David borrowed elements from the works of Nicolas Poussin and the reliefs of antique sarcophagi. Author: DAVID, Jacques-Louis Title: The Grief of Andromache Form: graphics , 1801-1850 , French , study
Hector Oil on canvas, 123 x 172 cm Musee Fabre, Montpellier David discovered the dramatically lit and forceful canvases of Caravaggio and his followers, and his full-length male nude and semi-nude studies such as Hector of 1778 and Patroclus of 1780 show how he had begun to use light and shadow to give weight and density to his figures. Artist: DAVID, Jacques-Louis Title: Hector , painting Date: 1801-1850 French : other
Count Potocki 1781 Oil on canvas, 304 x 218 cm Muzeum Narodowe, Warsaw David received a lucrative commission for a grand portrait of a Polish nobleman, Count Stanislas Potocki. Although begun in Rome, the painting was actually completed a little later in Paris. Potocki came from one of the most celebrated Polish families, and had recently become very wealthy thanks to his wife's dowry. He was also a scholar, and translated and commented on the work of Winckelmann. Obviously his portrait had to be impressive and suggestive of his status. Therefore David depicted him on horseback, subduing a skittish horse with consummate ease. David turned to the example of the great Baroque portraitist Anthony van Dyck to create a work that was similar in scale and impact. Artist: DAVID, Jacques-Louis Title: Count Potocki , painting Date: 1801-1850 French : portrait
Portrait of Jacques Desmaisons 1782 Oil on canvas, 92 x 72 cm Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo After the death of his father following a pistol duel in December 1757, aged thirty-five, David was placed successively in the care of two uncles, Franeois Buron (1731-1818) and Jacques-Francois Desmaisons (c. 1720-1789), who were both architects and building contractors. Artist: DAVID, Jacques-Louis Title: Portrait of Jacques-Franeois Desmaisons , painting Date: 1801-1850 French : portrait