Arches of the Larger Baths at Hadrian's Villa
1748
chalk
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1748
chalk
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This drawing shows crumbling stone arches at Hadrian’s Villa. The lines are sharp and clean, almost like an architect’s plan. White chalk lightens the shadows, making the old stones feel solid. Challe visited the ruins himself. He sketched what he saw, not what he imagined. That makes this a rare firsthand record of the site in the 1700s. For more like this, look up Challe, Charles Michel-Ange.
