1778
chalk
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Roman Circus near Santa Croce in Gerusalemme is a 1778 chalk by Jacques-Louis David, a Neoclassicism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows two buildings by a river. The top one is a tall, pale structure with columns and a flat roof, sitting on a raised platform. Below it, a shorter building with a tower and chimney sits closer to the water’s edge. Trees and a bridge connect the two sides of the river, which has a few boats floating near the shore. The artist used soft gray washes to blur edges, giving the scene a dreamy, unfinished look. This style was common in early sketches to capture light and mood over detail. Next, look up Romanticism to see how artists used emotion and atmosphere in their work.
Jacques-Louis David was born in Paris on 30 August 1748 into a bourgeois family; his father died in a duel when the boy was nine, and a maternal uncle guided his education.
See the richer artist page
