Roman Forum
Artist
Jasper Francis Cropsey
(American, 1823 - 1900)
Date1849
MediumGraphite and sepia wash on paper
Dimensions11 3/4 x 16 7/8 in.
ClassificationsDrawing
Credit LineWilliam F. Brooks Fund
Terms
Object number1978.6
Description"Roman Forum", a preliminary drawing that he executed for his much later oil painting of 1895 (Newington Cropsey Foundation, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York), illustrates the young Cropsey's avid interest in the ruins of the ancient Roman Empire. A nostalgic sketch of this renowned political and cultural gathering place of the Romans, the artist has dwarfed the human figures by the size of the massive monuments. Similar to Cole's "Sketch for an Aqueduct Near Rome, Roman Forum" emphasizes the concept of the passing of great civilizations, which are ultimately reduced to ruins, for nature wields power over man. Cropsey's superb attention to architectural and natural detail in the drawing and finished painting reflects the influence of the Nazarenes, a brotherhood of Austrian painters who lived and worked in Rome at the time and painted religious and historical subjects and landscapes. In addition, the detailed clarity and intense color of the English Pre-Raphaelites impressed Cropsey and he subscribed to the English critic and artist John Ruskin's belief in achieving truthfulness to nature through exact painting.On View
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