Artwork Page for The Prisoner

Details / Information for The Prisoner

The Prisoner

c. 1816–22

Jacques-Louis David

(French, 1748–1825)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
black chalk on cream laid paper
Support
Cream(3) laid paper
Measurements
Sheet: 13.1 x 19.6 cm (5 3/16 x 7 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1973.36
Catalogue raisonné
Rosenberg and Prat 393
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

Scholars have suggested that Jacques-Louis David might have intended this drawing as a portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, who the artist supported. The former leader died a prisoner on the island of Saint Helena in 1821.

Description

This drawing belongs to a series of enigmatic sheets that the French artist Jacques-Louis David created while living as an exile in Brussels from 1816 until his death in 1825. Many of these untitled works present close-up views of expressive heads and were given by the artist to his friends. This image of a turbaned man next to a hanging chain and oil lamp loosely references David's painting The Intercession of Saint Roch (1780) from much earlier in his career.
A horizontally oriented black chalk drawing on cream paper features a muscular man reclining, his head resting on his hand. Fine, precise lines detail his furrowed brow and cloth headwrap, while soft, blended shading defines his torso. To the left, a vertical chain is rendered with thick, looped strokes. Above him, a small bowl sits on a linear ledge. Handwritten text "L. David, Brux." appears in the upper left corner.

The Prisoner

c. 1816–22

Jacques-Louis David

(French, 1748–1825)
France, 19th century

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