Drawings
Drawings | Plaster | Marble | Bronze | Books
Click on the images below for gallery labels available in the exhibition.
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Study after a Plaster Cast of the Apollo Belvedere, ca. 1814 Cat. 1 Long considered an exemplar of ideal classical beauty, the full-length ancient marble statue known as the Apollo Belvedere (Vatican Museums, Rome) was widely copied by early nineteenth-century art students. In this drawing, possibly a comment on the distance between the classical tradition and modern life, David shows only the face of the god, lying across the page like a fragmented... MORE » |
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General Bonchamps Shown in a Pose Designed for His Tomb (recto), 1824 Cat. 2 A prolific draftsman, David often made multiple preliminary sketches for his sculptures. This schematic drawing outlines the composition of his Monument to Bonchamps (1824), a reduced bronze version of which is exhibited nearby. David references an ancient Greek sculpture of a river god from the recently discovered Elgin marbles (British Museum), which he had seen in London in 1816 (... MORE » |
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Head of a Woman in Profile, ca. 1830s Cat. 3 This sensitive rendering is an amalgam of classicism and closely observed nature. Delicate hatching indicates the contours of the face, with a subtle emphasis on the outline of the profile — particularly the bridge of the nose and the slightly parted lips. This contrasts with the boldly marked strokes of the sitter’s hair, with its upward serpentine swirl continued by the curve of the hair... MORE » |
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Portrait of A. W. von Schlegel, 1834 Cat. 4 This precise likeness of the Romantic writer A. W. von Schlegel (1767–1845) was executed from life during David’s second trip to Germany in 1834. Particular care is taken with Schlegel’s profile, which would be the crucial element of the corresponding portrait medallion. According to the sculptor, his motives for making the portrait were “the brutal ingratitude of young Germans for the old... MORE » |
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Study for a Tomb Relief for the Duchess d’Abrantès, 1841 Cat. 5 In the nineteenth century, the achievements of women were rarely acknowledged by public monuments. Shown here is David’s unexecuted design for a tomb relief commemorating Laure Junot, Duchess of Abrantès (1784–1838). The duchess, wife of a Napoleonic general and later Balzac’s lover, is shown writing her famous memoirs. Standing before her are Napoleon and a group of his generals, including... MORE » |
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The Four Sergeants of La Rochelle, 1844 Cat. 6 |