The Fight between the Horatii and the Curiatii

Public Domain

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Artist Circle of Jacques-Louis David(French, 1748–1825)French, 1748–1825

CultureFrench

Titles

The Fight between the Horatii and the Curiatii

Datec. 1799

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsCanvas: 50 1/8 × 62 7/8 in. (127.3 × 159.7 cm)
Frame: 57 3/16 x 69 7/8 x 2 7/8 in. (145.3 x 177.5 x 7.3 cm)

Credit LineSarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation, Houston

Object numberBF.2024.8

Current Location

The Audrey Jones Beck Building

218 Blaffer Galleries

Exposé

Explore Further

Department

Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation

Object Type

PAINTING

DescriptionThe unknown, highly skilled artist of this painting was in the orbit of Jacques-Louis David, the most important painter in Europe at the turn of the 19th century. The unfinished painting reveals the painter’s working process using both brush and pen underdrawing. The painting’s subject comes from a story told by the ancient Roman historian Livy. Rome and its neighbor Alba Longa were at war and agreed to decide the conflict with a battle between three representatives from each side, the Roman Horatius triplets and the Alban Curiatius brothers. The painting shows the denouement of the fight in which two of the Horatii have been slain, but the third, Publius Horatius, managed to separate the three Curiatii and dispatch them one at a time. With the death of the last of the Curiatii, Publius, shown towering over his final victim, gained victory for the Romans.
Provenance[Galleria Carlo Virgilio, Rome]; purchased by the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation, 2024.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

[none]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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