Study of the Sabine Statue from the Villa Medici

This drawing depicts a classical sculpture (see photo) said to represent a Sabine (the Sabines were a village people who resided northeast of ancient Rome). David saw the statue at Rome's Villa Medici, a fact he noted by inscribing the location at the lower left corner of this study. The artist made the sketch early in his career, during his 1775-80 stay in Italy as winner of the coveted Rome Prize scholarship. This and the many other drawings and tracings that David made after ancient sculpture and vases in Italy helped him later become the leader of neoclassical painting.