The Vestal Virgin

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The Vestal Virgin is an oil-on-canvas painting by French artist Jacques-Louis David. The exact date isn’t known, but most scholars place it in the mid-1780s (roughly 1783–1787), with one sale catalogue listing 1787. It is a half-length portrait of a vestal virgin. The work was rediscovered in 1909. Although its authorship was once questioned, it is signed and mentioned in David’s list of works, and experts see a David-like treatment of the hand and robe. Since the 1980s it has been in a private collection in the United States.