The Triumph of Pompey

Gabriel de Saint-Aubin

1765 · Watercolor and gouache, pen and black ink, graphite, over black chalk · Drawings and Prints

In one of his most extraordinary drawings, brilliant with transparent and opaque watercolor, Saint-Aubin conjured a cast of hundreds in an imaginary view of ancient Rome at sunset. The scene represents the third triumphal entry of the general Pompey (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, 106–48 BCE) and was made as part of a commission from Philippe de Prétot (ca. 1708–1787), an instructor in history and geography who offered classes and lessons aimed at fashionable society. The project, an illustrated survey of the history of ancient Rome entitled Le spectacle de l’histoire romaine, was first announced in 1762.

Artist

Gabriel de Saint-Aubin

Date

1765

Medium

Watercolor and gouache, pen and black ink, graphite, over black chalk

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Promised Gift of Leon D. and Debra R. Black, and Purchase, Rogers Fund, 2004