Man Clutching a Horse in Water, after Poussin's "Deluge" (recto)

c. 1816

after Nicolas Poussin

(French, 1594–1665)

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Culture

France, 19th century

Medium

pen and brown ink and brush and brown wash over graphite

Support

Beige laid paper

Measurements

Sheet: 18 x 26.2 cm (7 1/16 x 10 5/16 in.)

Credit Line

Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2008.378.a

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Location

Not on view

Description

Géricault's drawing of a man clutching the mane of a horse as they struggle together to stay afloat is a direct copy of a detail from one of Nicolas Poussin's (1594-1665) most celebrated paintings, The Deluge, or Winter (see photo). Small in scale but monumental in feeling, the sheet exemplifies the artist's "antique manner" of drawing, which he began to develop around 1815. This style, with its heavy contour lines and broad washes, developed in tandem with Géricault's renewed interest in copying works of art from the past, such as prints after ancient sculpture and works by Raphael (1483-1520), Michelangelo (1475-1564), and Poussin.