Didos død - Oval komposition 1734 - 1802

"Didos død - Oval komposition" is a red chalk drawing by Gaetano Gandolfi, created between 1734 and 1802. The oval composition depicts Dido, the Queen of Carthage, dying after Aeneas, a Trojan hero, abandoned her. An angel floats above, with a figure in the foreground mourning Dido's demise. Gandolfi's drawing, now housed in the Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK) in Copenhagen, exemplifies the Romanticism and Neoclassicism trends prevalent in 18th-century European art. The use of red chalk and the dramatic portrayal of a poignant moment from ancient Roman mythology contribute to the drawing's emotional intensity and visual impact.