Virgil Reading the "Aeneid" to Augustus, Octavia, and Livia
Jean Baptiste Joseph Wicar·1790–93
Historical Context
Jean-Baptiste Wicar depicted the famous scene from antiquity in which Virgil reads his Aeneid to Emperor Augustus, his sister Octavia, and wife Livia, causing Octavia to faint at the passage about her recently deceased son Marcellus. This episode, recorded by ancient sources, was a popular Neoclassical subject symbolizing the power of poetry and became especially fashionable after Angelica Kauffman's treatment of it.
Technical Analysis
The oil on canvas demonstrates rigorous Neoclassical composition with figures arranged in a frieze-like manner against a classical architectural setting. The restrained palette and idealized forms reflect Wicar's training under Jacques-Louis David.
Provenance
Possibly in the possession of the artist until his death in 1834 [an early painting depicting Virgil is described in inventory of property drawn up after Wicar’s death, as “il Quadro rappresentante Virgilio dipinto dal defonto nei primi anni della sua Gioventù”, see Wise and Warner 1996, pp. 175-8]; possibly bequeathed to Wicar’s student, Giuseppe Carattoli (died 1850), Perugia [see Wise and Warner 1996 and Caracciolo and Rosenberg 2002, p. 245]. Possibly Mario Praz [Carlo Sestieri stated in a letter of March 21, 1981, to Susan Wise that he thought he had acquired the painting in an exchange with Mario Praz, Rome, but in another letter dated September 20, 1983 he said that he had purchased the painting in Florence, both in curatorial file; it is not mentioned in Mario Praz, The House of Life (Oxford, 1964)]. Marcello and Carlo Sestieri, Rome, by 1963; sold to the Art Institute, 1963.
