Le Aurora Casino of the villa Ludovisi

This painting of the Aurora Casino at the Villa Ludovisi from 1806 at the Musee Ingres shows the young artist documenting Guercino's famous ceiling fresco during his first years in Rome. Such copies of old master works were standard training for Prix de Rome winners. Ingres built his oil surfaces through meticulous underdrawing in graphite, then applied smooth, controlled layers that eliminated all visible brushwork—a deliberate rejection of the painterly Romantic style of Delacroix.

The copy demonstrates Ingres's careful study of Baroque illusionistic painting. The rendering of Guercino's dynamic composition shows his technical facility in translating fresco effects to canvas.