Hexagonal Temple in an Italianate Landscape
c. 1780
Medium
pen and black ink with watercolor and gray wash within a border drawn in blue watercolor and pen and black ink on laid paper extensively pricked for transfer
Dimensions
image: 34.8 x 55 cm (13 11/16 x 21 5/8 in.) sheet: 37.2 x 57 cm (14 5/8 x 22 7/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
William B. O'Neal Fund
Accession Number
1998.28.3
Art Historical Context
Louis Gustave Taraval’s *Hexagonal Temple in an Italianate Landscape* captures the late-eighteenth-century fascination with classical antiquity and idyllic Italian scenery. Created around 1780, the drawing presents a graceful, six-sided temple set within a serene, imagined landscape, evoking the kind of picturesque ruins that captivated European artists and travelers during the Grand Tour era. The balanced composition and delicate architectural details reflect the period’s neoclassical taste for harmony, proportion, and references to ancient Rome. The work is executed in pen and black ink wit...
About the Artist
Louis Gustave Taraval · 1738–1794
Taraval served as inspector for the Bâtiments du Roi. According to Macmillan, he was influential in the publication of several important architects, including Pierre Contant D'Ivry and Jean François Chalgrin.