Pen and brown ink, grey wash on black chalk
208 × 139 mm
Handwritten inscription of David, with pen and brown ink, on the bottom left, ville des/[E]mpereurs. Initials of Jules (Lugt 1437) and Eugène (Lugt 839) David, with pen and brown ink on the lower left
Provenance: Sale after the artist’s death, Paris, 17th april 1826 and following days ; Collection Pierre-Olivier Dubaut (Lugt 2103 b) ; then by descent
Reference: Pierre Rosenberg and Louis Antoine Prat, Jacques Louis David 1748-1825, Catalogue raisonné des dessins, Milan, Leonardo Arte, 2002, volume II, p. 759, no. 1213

This drawing from antiquity was originally part of one of the twelve Roman albums of David from which it was detached. The style is indeed very comparable to some drawings also annotated ville des Empereurs and portraying antique sculptures. These include Juno, Venus and Jupiter, based on statues from the Farnese gardens (Rosenberg and Prat, Ibid., Volume I, p. 594, no. 836; p. 595, No. 838; p. 684, Nos. 1043-1044). It is probable that the sculpture represented here by David was also in the Farnese Palace, and that David saw it there during his first stay in Rome, from November 1775 to July 1780. At that time the Farnese Palace still housed an important collection of antiques (transferred to Naples between 1786 and 1820).
However, Arlette Sérullaz indicates that the mention ville des Empereurs probably refers to the imperial residence built on Mount Palatine since Augustus (Domus Flavia updated around 1750; Domus Augustana; Arlette Sérullaz, Inventaire général des dessins, École Française, Dessins de Jacques-Louis David, Paris, RMN, 1991, p. 92, notice of no. 72).