Shop art print and framed art Académie d'homme dite Patrocle by Jacques-Louis David

Nu masculin, dit Patrocle (French for Male Nude, known as Patroclus) is an oil painting by the French painter Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825). It was produced in Rome around 1780 and depicts Patroclus, Achilles' lover. The work hangs in Cherbourg-Octeville. It is an unusual painting, as it does not show a face. The artist's attention is focused solely on the anatomy of the body, on the musculature that is taut because of the position. It is not the representation of the person that is in the foreground, but the painter's mastery. The work measures 121.5 × 170.5 cm and was painted in oil on canvas. In 1774, David was awarded first prize in the Prix de Rome for the painting The physician Erasistratos discovers the cause of Antiochus' illness, and a scholarship for a stay of several years in Rome. At the same time, his teacher Joseph-Marie Vien was appointed director of the Académie de France in Rome. Together, teacher and pupil travelled to Rome. David devoted himself mainly to the study of Antiquity and the Italian masters of the High Renaissance. His interests included male nudes, a Hector and the figurative Patroclus. The figure of Patroclus and his tragic death seem to have particularly inspired the painter, since it was in Rome that the oil on canvas The Funeral of Patroclus and the work of Hector mentioned above were painted. The latter had killed Patroclus and been killed in return by Achilles. The nude was first exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1781. The painting is [...]

 

This artwork is a painting from the classical period. It belongs to the neoclassicism style.

 

« Académie d'homme dite Patrocle » is kept at Musée Thomas-Henry, Cherbourg, France.

 

Find the full description of Académie d'homme dite Patrocle by Jacques-Louis David on Wikipedia.