The Vestal Virgin (David)

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The Vestal Virgin (c. 1784–1787) by Jacques-Louis David

The Vestal Virgin is an oil-on-canvas painting by the French artist

Prix de Vertu
.

It is a half-length study of a

vestal virgin and was rediscovered in 1909. Its attribution to David was contested by Gaston Brière, Klaus Holma and Louis Hautecœur
, although the work is signed and mentioned in the painter's own list of works. Antoine Schnapper believed that David's authorship was evident in the painting's treatment of the figure's hand and robe. Since the 1980s the painting has been in a private collection in the United States.

See also

Bibliography

  • Louis Hautecœur, Louis David, Paris, La Table Ronde, 1954
  • Antoine Schnapper (ed.) and Arlette Sérullaz, Jacques-Louis David 1748–1825: catalogue de l'exposition rétrospective Louvre-Versailles 1989-1990, Paris, Réunion des Musées nationaux, 1989 (), page 160
  • Sophie Monneret, David et le néoclassicisme, Paris, Terrail, 1998 (), page 68