The Allegorical Figure of France for the Tomb of General Bonchamp
19th century
Medium
graphite, pen and brown ink
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 5/16 x 5 15/16 in. (21.1 x 15.1cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Karen B. Cohen Gift, 1989
Accession Number
1989.286.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the 19th century, French sculptor Pierre Jean David d'Angers created this delicate preparatory drawing, *The Allegorical Figure of France for the Tomb of General Bonchamp*. Rendered in graphite, pen, and brown ink on a modest sheet measuring 8 5/16 x 5 15/16 inches, it depicts a poised female figure embodying the spirit of France. David, a leading Romantic artist celebrated for his monumental sculptures and portrait medallions, often used such sketches to refine designs for public monuments, blending neoclassical precision with emotional depth. The drawing honors General Charles de Boncham...
About the Artist
Pierre Jean David d'Angers · 1788–1856
Pierre-Jean David d'Angers, born on March 12, 1788, in Angers, France, to a wood carver and ornamental sculptor father who had fought in the Republican army, began his artistic training locally under Marchand and Jean-Jacques Delusse at the École centrale d'Angers from 1806 to 1807. In 1808, he arrived in Paris with scant funds and entered the studio of Philippe-Laurent Roland, later working under...