# The Departure of Marcus Attilius Regulus for Carthage

- By: Jacques Louis David (French, 1748-1825)
- Date: 1785/86
- Medium: Pen and black ink and brush and black ink wash and opaque white watercolor with black chalk and touches of brown watercolor on blue laid paper
- Classification: Drawing and Watercolor
- Dimensions: Sight: 31 × 40.9 cm (12 1/4 × 16 1/8 in.)
- Culture: France
- Credit line: Clarence Buckingham Collection
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/50397)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/bfb1e6b9-00c5-e174-54cb-21b74a7b03ee/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

In David’s powerful study, the defeated Roman general Marcus Atilius Regulus, refusing the entreaties of his wife, insists on being sent back to Carthage to be executed. The relief-like drawing, seemingly carved from stone, boldly combines a sober setting and technique (black ink, white wash) with extreme theatricality, like a scene performed onstage.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0