05 / 10 · 1760–1830
The virtue and reason of ancient Rome, answering an age of revolution.
Oath of the Horatii · Read more →The excavation of Pompeii and Herculaneum revived Europe's fascination with antiquity, while Enlightenment thinkers prized reason, civic duty and self-sacrifice. Painters rejected Rococo charm for crisp outlines, restrained colour and solemn compositions that told heroic stories.
Jacques-Louis David led the movement, and his work became bound up with the French Revolution and Napoleon's empire. His pupil Ingres carried the classical ideal into the nineteenth century with his flawless line.
