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Secondary sourcePainting

Study of Augustus

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

A graphite sketch by Ingres studying the figure of the emperor Augustus for a larger composition.

A 19th-century artist's preparatory sketch imagining the emperor Augustus, not a contemporary image of him.

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Graphite pencil sketch on grey paper of a man in profile facing left, with bare shoulders and upper back. His hand is raised near his chin. Faint studies of hands and a head appear at lower left, with numbers 3 and 6 in the corners.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Study of Augustus. Musée Ingres.

About this source

What it is

This is a graphite pencil drawing on grey paper by the French artist Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. It shows a man in profile, bare-shouldered, with his hand raised near his chin. Small secondary sketches of hands and a head appear in the corner, along with numbers that suggest it was a working study. It is held at the Musée Ingres.

Why it matters

This drawing was not made during Augustus's lifetime. It is a much later artistic study, created as Ingres prepared a painting that included the emperor. It shows how artists in the 19th century imagined and reconstructed figures from ancient Rome, often using live models and classical references rather than any surviving portrait of the real person.

Look closer

  • Why might an artist make several small sketches before painting a final figure?
  • What clues show this is a preparatory study rather than a finished artwork?
  • How might this image differ from an actual portrait made in Augustus's own time?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Augustus on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Primary source

Relief Head of the Young Augustus

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Secondary source

Augustus of Prima Porta

c. 19 BCE or later

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Primary source

Ara Pacis

13-9 BCE

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