Agrippina Landing at Brindisi with the Ashes of Germanicus
1776
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From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1776
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This scene shows a crowd of people in ancient Roman clothes. Some stand stiffly in the front, while others kneel or reach out. A woman in a long white robe holds two small children’s hands, and a man on the ground looks up with his face half-covered. Behind them, a grand building with columns and a city on a hill fade into the distance. The woman’s calm face stands out against the chaos around her. The artist used shading to make the figures look three-dimensional, especially in the folds of their clothes. Look up chiaroscuro to see how this lighting trick works.
