Jacques-Louis DavidFrench, 1748–1825Castle on a Hill
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Castle on a Hill” now? Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Washington, D.C., United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
Details
- Accession number
- 1998.105.1.tt
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- National Gallery of Art
- Image: National Gallery of Art — Museum open access
In the life of Jacques-Louis David
The whole life1771–1773
Three failed attempts at the Prix de Rome
He competed three years running — with “Minerva Fighting Mars,” “Diana and Apollo Killing Niobe’s Children” and “The Death of Seneca” — and lost each time; after the 1772 defeat he went on a hunger strike that lasted two and a half days, until Michel-Jean Sedaine and Gabriel-François Doyen urged him to keep drawing.
1775–1780
Meets Mengs and encounters Winckelmann’s ideas
In Italy he met Anton Raphael Mengs, an advocate of the careful study of classical sources, who also introduced him to the theoretical writings of his friend Winckelmann; Mengs shaped David’s pre-revolutionary paintings, such as “The Vestal Virgin.”
October 1775 – July 1780
Pensionnaire at the French Academy in Rome
In October 1775 he left for Italy with his mentor Vien, who had just been appointed director of the French Academy in Rome; he studied Poussin, Caravaggio and the Carracci, filled twelve sketchbooks, and in July 1780, after his stay was extended by a year, returned to Paris.
![Ginevra de' Benci [obverse], Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1474/1478](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/8f29e3c9-a289-4d53-abf0-31a66e9e98fa/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
![Wreath of Laurel, Palm, and Juniper with a Scroll inscribed Virtutem Forma Decorat [reverse], Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1474/1478](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/ff62e8d0-45c4-498f-ad36-6358de827e04/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
