View of Saint Peter's in Rome

View of Saint Peter's in Rome, attributed to the esteemed French artist, Jean–Auguste–Dominique Ingres (1780-1867), captures one of the most iconic architectural landmarks of Europe. Executed using graphite on buff wove paper, this work is classified as a drawing and exemplifies the observational studies that were central to Ingres’s artistic practice, particularly during his extended residencies in Italy between 1806 and 1841. The careful attention to the scale, massing, and classical details of the vast basilica suggests the artist aimed for both an accurate topographical record and a precise exercise in volumetric representation.

Ingres's prolonged connection to Rome ensured that the city’s ancient and modern architectural grandeur remained a frequent subject in his work. Although this piece is attributed rather than definitively signed, the fine application of graphite and the refinement of line are highly characteristic of the French Neoclassical master’s draftsmanship. Such studies often served multiple purposes: as intellectual training, as preparatory material for later compositions, or simply as visual souvenirs documenting the artist’s environment.

This detailed perspective on the religious epicenter of Rome, dating sometime between 1800 and 1867, offers valuable insight into the visual culture of France and the centrality of Italian influence on nineteenth-century art. The drawing resides in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a significant sketch from a major figure of French Neoclassicism, the piece contributes to the public understanding of Ingres’s working methods, whose foundational drawings are often reproduced as public domain prints, ensuring wide accessibility to his enduring legacy.