Antique Funeral Scene in a Mausoleum c. 1795

Luigi Ademollo created this sepia ink drawing of an antique funeral scene sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. It depicts the laying of a body in a grand mausoleum. Ademollo was an Italian painter, primarily of frescoes, working in a neoclassical style. Here, we can see how the artist looked to classical antiquity to construct ideals of civic virtue and morality. Neoclassical art often served the social function of reinforcing existing hierarchies and values. The architecture is a marvel of the ancient world, alluding to a glorious past. The artist uses light and shadow to dramatize the scene and create a sense of pathos and reverence. For art historians, images like this are valuable resources to understand the cultural values of the period and the ways artists used historical references to comment on contemporary society. Further research into the artist's biography and the cultural context in which he worked can provide additional insights into the meaning and significance of this drawing.