Lot Essay
Executed by David during his stay at the Académie de France in Rome between November 1775 and August 1780. After having won the Prix de Rome in 1774, David arrived in Italy determined not to change his style. Very soon he noticed that 'ceux qui me donnaient des conseils avaient donc bien mal vu l'Italie, car à peine fus-je à Parme que voyant les ouvrages du Corrège je me trouvait déjà ébranlé, à Bologne, je commençai à faire de tristes réflections, à Florence je fus convaincu, mais à Rome je fus honteux de mon ignorance', Notes écrites par David sur son enfance, ses études jusqu'à son premier séjour à Rome, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, Manuscript 316/54 in Sérullaz, op. cit., p. 66. In Rome David gave up painting and began to draw continuously, preferring landscape, antique statues and old master pictures. According to Arlette Sérullaz he executed more than a thousand drawings, Paris, op. cit., p. 65.
Some time after 1785, David arranged his drawings in twelve large albums which he kept for his entire life. They were included in his studio sale in 1826, and again in another sale in 1835 when they were sold separately. On the occasion of the first sale David's sons signed each drawing with paraphs to certify their authenticity.
Of the twelve albums, nos. 7 and 9 are in the Louvre, no. 1 is in the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, no. 3 is in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, no. 11 was sold in Monaco in 1986 and no. 6 was broken up in 1979.
The present drawing was laid down on page twelve of Album no. 10, bought at the 1835 sale by A. Chassagnolles, the uncle of Jacques-Louis-Jules David, David's grandson. It remained with the family until the sale of 1956, when it was bought by Germain Seligman who sold the sheets separately.
David executed several landscape drawings during his Roman sojourn, most of which were placed in albums nos. 10 and 11 (respectively fifteen and eleven drawings). Most of these concentrate on architecture rather than nature. The series was described by K. Homa as 'exceptional in terms of their freshness and the mastery that he shows in these. Never he is younger and more spontaneous', K. Homa, David, son évolution et son style, Paris, 1940, p. 32. The inscription on the present drawing indicates that the light comes from behind the town. Contrary to the opinion of many authors, this shows David's keen interest in the depiction of nature.
Some time after 1785, David arranged his drawings in twelve large albums which he kept for his entire life. They were included in his studio sale in 1826, and again in another sale in 1835 when they were sold separately. On the occasion of the first sale David's sons signed each drawing with paraphs to certify their authenticity.
Of the twelve albums, nos. 7 and 9 are in the Louvre, no. 1 is in the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, no. 3 is in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, no. 11 was sold in Monaco in 1986 and no. 6 was broken up in 1979.
The present drawing was laid down on page twelve of Album no. 10, bought at the 1835 sale by A. Chassagnolles, the uncle of Jacques-Louis-Jules David, David's grandson. It remained with the family until the sale of 1956, when it was bought by Germain Seligman who sold the sheets separately.
David executed several landscape drawings during his Roman sojourn, most of which were placed in albums nos. 10 and 11 (respectively fifteen and eleven drawings). Most of these concentrate on architecture rather than nature. The series was described by K. Homa as 'exceptional in terms of their freshness and the mastery that he shows in these. Never he is younger and more spontaneous', K. Homa, David, son évolution et son style, Paris, 1940, p. 32. The inscription on the present drawing indicates that the light comes from behind the town. Contrary to the opinion of many authors, this shows David's keen interest in the depiction of nature.