Accession Number
2012/2.204

Title
Death of Priam

Artist(s)
French

Artist Nationality
French (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
circa 1790s

Medium & Support
Pen and ink over graphite heightened with black and white chalk over stylus on buff wove paper

Dimensions
14 3/4 in x 9 1/8 in (37.47 cm x 23.18 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Professor Walter M. and Nesta R. Spink

Label copy
Anonymous
Death of Priam
France
1790s
Pen and ink over graphite, heightened with black and white chalk over stylus
Gift of Professor Walter M. and Nesta R. Spink, 2012/2.204

Subject matter
This accomplished preparatory drawing, heightened in black and white chalk and squared for transfer, may depict a scene from the Sack of Troy of the death of Priam at the hands of Achilles' son Pyrrhus, which is recounted in Book II of Virgil's Aeneid. In the center of the composition, a nude male figure donning an ornate helmet and brandishing a sword drags a lifeless, classically draped figure before an altar. On top of the altar rests a set of armor, a helmet, and drapery, and behind it emerges the face and arms of another male figure in classical robes with an angry expression in reaction to the scene. Another male figure grabs the arm of the victor, and points in the direction of the city that can be seen in the distance. On the right, two mourning female figures collapse in anguish. This drawing, likely dating to the first few years after the French Revolution, was clearly intended to be the source of a larger painting whose whereabouts are unknown.

Physical Description
A preparatory drawing squared for transfer depicting nude and classically draped figures in various poses in an outdoor setting before an altar.

Primary Object Classification
Drawing

Collection Area
Western

Rights
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Keywords
Classical
Roman (ancient Italian culture or period)
altars (religious fixtures)
body armor
deaths
killing
mourning
murders
nudes (representations)
preparatory drawings
swords