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Brutus Exhorting the Romans after the Death of Lucretia

A work made of brush and brown and black ink washes, over pen and black ink and traces of black chalk, with opaque white paint, on cut and pieced cream laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of brush and brown and black ink washes, over pen and black ink and traces of black chalk, with opaque white paint, on cut and pieced cream laid paper.

Date:

c. 1790

Artist:

Étienne Barthélemy Garnier
French, 1759-1849

About this artwork

In ancient Roman legend, during the war between Rome and the city of Alba Longa, two groups of three brothers were chosen to fight to the death for each side. The Horatii family fought for the Romans, the Curiatii for the Albans. The Horatii defeated the Curiatii, although only one of the Horatii survived. Upon discovering that his sister Camilla was secretly betrothed to one of the dead Curiatii, the surviving brother angrily killed her for placing personal love above patriotism.
Garnier’s ambitious drawing depicts the execution of Camilla, emphasizing the event’s tragedy. Though her brother stands on an elevated platform, the dying Camilla has pride of place, spotlit and surrounded by mourners. In its strong line, lack of color, and shallow space, the drawing reflects the impact ancient Roman sculptural reliefs had on Garnier.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Etienne Barthélemy Garnier

Title

Brutus Exhorting the Romans after the Death of Lucretia

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1788–1793

Medium

Brush and brown and black ink washes, over pen and black ink and traces of black chalk, with opaque white paint, on cut and pieced cream laid paper

Dimensions

Sight: 53.2 × 77.4 cm (21 × 30 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

The Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Endowment Fund

Reference Number

2018.60

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/241734/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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