Two Studies of Virgil

Two Studies of Virgil by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres is a significant drawing created between 1812 and 1825, reflecting the artist’s deep engagement with classical antiquity. This large-scale preparatory work is rendered in delicate graphite across five carefully joined sheets of paper, a technique often employed when the artist was either correcting or combining separate elements into a complex compositional plan. Ingres, known throughout his career for his masterful draughtsmanship, utilized the precise, unforgiving nature of graphite to meticulously study the idealized form and posture of the Roman poet, Virgil.

Executed during the French artistic period spanning 1801 to 1825, this drawing exemplifies the academic commitment to classical history and the pursuit of pure line that defined Ingres’s Neoclassical style. The emphasis on careful delineation and volumetric shading in the piece reveals the artist’s process of formal refinement, which was crucial for his monumental oil paintings and historical narratives. The extended timeframe of its creation suggests that the studies were likely revisited or prepared for one of the major commissions involving the poet, such as Ingres’s contributions to the decoration of the Roman Villa Monti-Dragone.

As a highly finished preparatory work, this piece provides essential insight into Ingres’s methodical artistic practice and his reliance on observational accuracy, even when depicting historical figures. The drawing captures the transitional style of the early 19th century, bridging the strict academicism of David with Ingres’s more expressive command of the human figure. This important study, Two Studies of Virgil, is held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Because of its art historical significance, related documentation and high-quality prints derived from the original are often circulated for scholarly reference, ensuring the accessibility of Ingres’s draughtsmanship to a wider public.