Antiochus and Stratonica
by DAVID, Jacques-Louis, Oil on canvas, 120 x 155 cm
David, ambitious and excitable, competed in 1771 for the Prix de Rome, which went to Suv�e. In 1772 David lost out to Jombert and Le Monnier, and he nearly killed himself in despair. In 1773, his Seneca was passed over in favour of Peyron’s more Poussin-like version. David finally won the prize in 1774 with Antiochus and Stratonica, though the palette is too red and shot which shafts of light in a setting that lacks rigor. His work was maturing from year to year, but David’s evolution was one of the most laborious ever known.