Aeneas Carrying Anchises from Burning Troy
c. 1733
Medium
pen and brown ink with gray wash on tan laid paper
Dimensions
overall (approximate): 39.1 x 32.9 cm (15 3/8 x 12 15/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1971.79.1
Art Historical Context
In the dramatic drawing *Aeneas Carrying Anch from Burning Troy* (c. 1733), Venetian artist Gaspare Diziani a pivotal moment from Virgil's epic *Aeneid*. Aeneas, the Trojan hero, flees the flaming ruins of Troy with his elderly father Anchises on his, embodying themes of piety, duty, and survival. Created with pen and brown ink heightened by gray wash on tan laid (39.1 x 32.9 cm), this work exemplifies Diziani's mastery as a Rococo draughtsman, blending fluid lines with subtle tonal modeling to evoke motion and emotion amid chaos. Diziani (1689–1767), a prominent figure in Venice's late Baroq...
About the Artist
Gaspare Diziani · 1689–1767
Comment on works: religious, mythology