Portrait of Jeanbon Saint-André
Medium
Pen and black ink and brush and black ink with yellow ocher watercolor over graphite, on cream laid paper
Dimensions
18.3 × 18.3 cm (7 1/4 × 7 1/4 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
44262
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This penetrating character study of the artist’s friend and fellow French revolutionary, Jeanbon Saint-André (1749–1813), made while both were in prison, brilliantly captures the sitter’s political and moral beliefs through his intense and unflinching stare, defiantly crossed arms, and sober black frock coat and hat. At the same time, it recalls profile portraits on ancient coins, thus equating Saint-André and the revolution with the lofty ideals of the Roman republic. David’s handwritten inscri...
About the Artist
Jacques Louis David · 1748–1825
Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825), born in Paris on August 30 to a prosperous family, faced early tragedy when his father was killed in a duel around age nine. Raised by his mother's two architect uncles after his mother departed, David overcame family resistance to architecture and a facial tumor that hindered his speech and studies at the Collège des Quatre-Nations. He began training under the Roc...