The Surviving Horatian

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

first half 19th century · Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash; framing lines in pen and black ink, by the artist · Drawings and Prints

The Danish painter Eckersberg spent a year in Paris (1811–12) at the studio of Jacques Louis David, where he completed his training as a history painter. This drawing offers a coda to David’s celebrated painting of 1784–85, "The Oath of the Horatii," as it depicts the sole survivor of the legendary Roman battle between the Horatii and the Curatii triplets. The surviving Horatian sheathes his sword after mercilessly killing his sister for weeping over the death of her fiancé, one of the slain Curatians. The drawing’s precise contour lines and restrained use of wash are exemplary of Eckersberg’s early Neoclassical style.

Artist

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

Date

first half 19th century

Medium

Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash; framing lines in pen and black ink, by the artist

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harry G. Sperling Fund, 2009