Jean-Baptiste Regnault (1754–1829), Follower of - Il Sacrificio di Polissena alla tomba di Achille

Drawn in brown pencil (or thick graphite/charcoal) and black sepia/ink, with light brush shading (wash/watercolor) on antique paper. It features a fine preparatory geometric grid drawn in pencil for transfer or proportional copying of the composition.

The work depicts with great academic rigor and theatrical drama the mythological episode of Polissena's sacrifice, drawn from Ovid's Metamorphoses and the Greek tragedies on the fall of Troy.
• In the center of the scene, the young Trojan princess Polissena is restrained and led toward the sacrificial altar.
• On the left, the powerful figure of Neottolemo (son of Achilles) is portrayed in a dynamic pose as he decisively unsheathes the sword with his right hand, ready to perform the ritual act. In the background the soldiers of the Greek army and the profiles of horses are outlined.
• On the right, Queen Hecuba, mother of Polissena, is depicted prostrated with grief and kneeling as she desperately clings to the base of Achilles' funerary monument.
• At the top, the shadow or divine spirit of the hero Achilles appears floating among the clouds, bearing witness to the fulfillment of the vow expressed by the Greeks to placate his soul.

CONDITION

The presence of the pencil grid, clearly visible over the entire surface of the sheet, attests to the technical nature of the work, conceived as an atelier study, academic exercise after or preparatory drawing for a graphic or painterly print or reproduction
Small crack in the paper
See photo