Andromache Mourning Hector

Andromache Mourning Hector, at the Pushkin Museum, was painted in 1783 and depicts the Trojan queen's grief over her slain husband. The subject — drawn from Homer's Iliad — allowed David to explore the theme of female suffering in war that would recur in his "Brutus" and "Sabine Women." David's austere oil technique rejected all Rococo softness in favor of a firm, sculptural handling that emphasized drawing over color—figures modelled like antique reliefs against neutral backgrounds,...

The mourning woman's pose derives from ancient Roman sarcophagus reliefs that David had studied in Italy. The smooth modeling and clear outline of the figure create a sculptural quality, while the somber palette of blues, whites, and earth tones conveys grief without melodrama.