Vestal - School of Jacques-Louis David (circa 1795)

School of Jacques-Louis DAVID (around 1795)
Vestal
Oil on oval canvas
H. 55 cm ; L. 45 cm

If the period of realization of this painting is more or less certain, its author remains mysterious to say the least... After having solicited several opinions, the same answer regularly comes back, that of the entourage of the great David. This master of the History of Art was certainly the most prolific teacher, his entourage and his students are composed of several hundred painters, spread over more than fifty years of creation. Our painting, which was certainly done around 1795, is pure neo-classicism in both its subject and its presentation.

The brushstroke is supple and thick, on the borderline between the techniques of Jean-Baptiste Greuze and those of David. This work could be a youthful work of a great painter in the making, whose technique and style may have evolved at the turn of the century.