Arches of the Larger Baths at Hadrian's Villa

c. 1748

Charles Michel-Ange Challe

Associated Names
Charles Michel-Ange Challe

Artist, French, 1718 - 1778

The image shows an ancient ruin with arches and crumbling stonework surrounded by overgrown vegetation. The horizon is slightly elevated, emphasizing the towering remnants of the architecture. Expressive brushstrokes and textures are notable, especially in the vines and leaves on the stone. The color palette is subdued, mainly earthy tones and black, creating contrast and suggesting openings into the distance, enhancing the old, abandoned feel of the ruins.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    black chalk and white chalk with stumping on light brown laid paper, with later framing line in brown ink

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 30.5 x 47.5 cm (12 x 18 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1999.19.2

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Private collection, Paris; (Galerie Cailleux, Paris) (sale, Christie's, New York, 28 January 1999, no. 126); (David Tunick, Inc., New York); purchased 1999 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1991

  • Le rouge et le noir: Cent dessins français de 1700 à 1850. Galerie Cailleux, Paris, 1991, no. 47 (Marianne Roland Michel).

2009

  • Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2009, 142-143, 283-284, no. 61 (color).

Inscriptions

lower left in pen and brown ink: MA Challe

Watermarks

posthorn (similar to Heawood 2621)

Wikidata ID

Q64538738

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