Aurora Riding in Her Chariot 1754 - 1817

Andrea Appiani created this pen and brown ink drawing, "Aurora Riding in Her Chariot," in Italy, sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. The image revives classical antiquity, a common trope during this Neoclassical period. The goddess Aurora, personifying the dawn, rides her chariot across the sky, surrounded by cherubic figures. The loose drawing style suggests this was a preparatory sketch, perhaps for a larger painting or fresco. Italian art academies of the time emphasized the importance of studying classical forms and mythology. Appiani himself became the official painter to Napoleon, whose empire consciously emulated the grandeur of Rome. Examining the patronage networks and institutional structures of the era helps us understand how artists like Appiani navigated the complex political landscape, and how art served to legitimize power. Further research into the artist's biography and the cultural context of Napoleonic Italy could shed more light on the social meanings embedded in this drawing.