The Death of Britannicus

A Roman banquet hall of columns and a coffered ceiling, with reclining guests at left and a woman in a long robe reaching toward a standing man at center. In the foreground a figure has collapsed onto the floor beside a couch, and a small vessel sits at lower left. The brown wash and white highlights give the scene a theatrical, sculptural quality.

Look closer: A small two-handled vessel sits on the floor at the lower left, almost lost in the shadow.

Artist

Alexandre Denis Abel de Pujol

Date

ca. 1814

Medium

Pen and black ink, brush and brown wash, heightened with white gouache over graphite and red chalk

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

3789 × 2591 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bruno de Bayser, 2004