Scène uit de antieke geschiedenis: een man gooit een steen naar een romeinse veldheer 1734

This drawing was made by Louis Fabritius Dubourg, sometime before his death in 1775. It’s rendered in pen and brown ink, washed, over graphite. The title tells us that the image is drawn from ancient history, and the dress of the figures identifies it as Roman. Note the man throwing a stone towards the Roman commander, who seems to be trying to negotiate. Dubourg creates meaning here by using the visual codes of civic virtue, of military authority challenged by the will of the people. We know that Dubourg spent time in The Hague and Paris. How might the specific social and political conditions of the Dutch Republic or France have influenced the artist’s choice of subject matter? It's a question we might investigate through a close study of the period. The historian's role is to contextualize the image, to show how it speaks to its own time. We can only grasp the fullness of its meaning through archival research and a deep knowledge of social and institutional history.