Design for Colossal Triumphal Arch Surmounted by a Quadriga 1745 - 1789

Jean Charles Delafosse designed this colossal triumphal arch with pen and brown ink, brush, gray wash, and graphite on off-white paper. The arch dominates the composition, its symmetrical form and classical details creating a sense of grandeur. Delafosse uses line and wash to define the architecture, setting it against a lightly rendered landscape. The structure is presented through elevation, plan and perspective drawings. The careful detailing and the monumental scale, even in this drawing, invite contemplation on the interplay of power, architecture, and symbolic representation. Delafosse, working in the late 18th century, reflects a broader fascination with classical antiquity. His triumphal arch is not just an architectural study but a statement on cultural values and aesthetic ideals. The arch, traditionally a symbol of victory and imperial authority, becomes in Delafosse's hands a structure of spatial imagination. Consider how the artist destabilizes established meanings through the use of scale, setting the arch against the natural landscape. This tension is where the artwork creates meaning, inviting us to reinterpret the relationship between human ambition and the natural world.