Dido's Sacrifice to Juno
Jean Bernard Restout|Joseph Marie Vien|Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre
ca. 1772–74 · Oil paint, over pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, on paper, mounted on canvas · Drawings and Prints
Despite being born into a dynasty of successful painters, Restout had a troubled relationship with the institutions that controlled the arts under the Bourbon monarchy. It was out of deference to his family’s standing, perhaps, that he was awarded a commission in 1772 for a series of tapestry designs based on Virgil’s Aeneid. In this sketch for one of the panels, Restout’s anticipation of the Neoclassical style is evident in the antique motifs and austere palette. After the Revolution, he would align himself with Jacques Louis David’s efforts to dismantle the structures of privilege and hierarchy that governed the Académie.
- Artist
- Jean Bernard Restout|Joseph Marie Vien|Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre
- Date
- ca. 1772–74
- Medium
- Oil paint, over pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, on paper, mounted on canvas
- Department
- Drawings and Prints
- Credit line
- Van Day Truex Fund, 1983
