Sketch of Virgil reading the Aeneid to Augustus and the Fainting Octavia
Samuel Woodforde, R.A. (Ansford 1763 - Ferrara 1817)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1785 - circa 1791
Materials
Oil on paper
Measurements
125 x 172 mm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Stourhead, Wiltshire
NT 732383
Caption
The poet, Virgil, has been reading from a passage in the sixth book of his own epic poem in which Octavia’s dead son Marcellus is highly praised, at which point Octavia faints with grief. The anecdotal story is recorded in the late fourth-century life of Virgil by Aelius Donatus. This early oil sketch, on paper, of a quintessentially Neo-classical subject by the Hoares' protégé, Samuel Woodforde, shows Octavia being supported by her brother the Emperor Augustus. The painting was acquired by the National Trust with the help of the National Art-Collections Fund for Stourhead in 1990.
Summary
Oil painting on paper, Virgil reading the Aeneid to Augustus and the Fainting Octavia, Samuel Woodforde, RA (Ansford 1763 - Ferrara 1817), circa 1785/91. A early oil sketch of a quintessentially Neo-classical subject by the Hoares' protégé.
Provenance
Acquired with the help of the National Art-Collections Fund in 1990
Credit line
Stourhead, The Hoare Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Recto: Bordered by four drawn lines. Green/grey wash. Handwritten at foot of page - 'Samuel Woodforde. Royal Academician 1763-1817.'
Makers and roles
Samuel Woodforde, R.A. (Ansford 1763 - Ferrara 1817), artist