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Secondary sourcePainting

Study of Augustus

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

A 19th-century pencil study by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres showing a figure thought to represent Augustus, with sketched arms and torso.

A preparatory sketch by Ingres connected to his imagining of Augustus, showing the artist's working process.

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Grey-toned scan of a pencil drawing on paper showing a figure in profile facing left, with two outstretched arms and hands, one arm raised at top and one lower; the torso and shoulder are sketched on the right.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, study of Augustus, 19th century.

About this source

What it is

This is a pencil drawing by the French Neoclassical artist Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. It shows a figure in profile with outstretched arms, used as a study related to a depiction of Augustus.

Why it matters

Ingres worked over 1,800 years after Augustus's death, drawing on the Neoclassical fashion for ancient Roman subjects. Studies like this show how artists carefully planned poses and gestures before completing a finished work, revealing the working methods behind classical-style art rather than Augustus's real appearance.

Look closer

  • What might the raised arm and gesture be meant to express?
  • Why do you think Ingres made several separate studies rather than one finished drawing?
  • What does an unfinished sketch like this reveal that a finished painting would not?

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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Res Gestae Divi Augusti

Augustus · 14 AD

Line engraving of a curly-haired man in profile wearing a draped Roman cloak, one hand resting on a globe and the other holding a scroll, inside an ornate border. Title reads 'D. Oct. Augustus' with a text block below.Painting

Secondary source

Emperor Augustus with Globe

After Titian (engraving by A. Sadeler, after Titian) · between 1700 and 1799 (possibly 17th century)

Photograph of a marble sculpted head on a white background. It has short, wavy hair carved in curling locks, large almond-shaped eyes with heavy lids, a straight nose, and a small closed mouth. The neck is broken off at the bottom.Sculpture

Primary source

Relief Head of the Young Augustus

Marble statue of a standing man in armor, right arm raised pointing forward, with a draped cloak over his left arm. A small cupid-like figure with a dolphin stands beside his right leg. Plain dark grey background.Sculpture

Secondary source

Augustus of Prima Porta

c. 19 BCE or later

Marble enclosure of the Ara Pacis in a glass-walled museum hall, seen from the southwest. Carved relief panels decorate the walls, with a doorway and a stepped approach at the front.Artifact

Primary source

Ara Pacis

13-9 BCE

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