The Prisoner
Jacques-Louis David · c. 1816–22 · Cleveland Museum of Art
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From the museum
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. 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.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0
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Details
- Maker
- Jacques-Louis David (French, 1748–1825)
- Date
- c. 1816–22
- Medium
- black chalk on cream laid paper
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 13.1 x 19.6 cm (5 3/16 x 7 11/16 in.)
- Place of origin
- France
- Held by
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · Not on view
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Image: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0
More by Jacques-Louis David
Shown in
- Nineteenth-Century French Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of ArtJan 20, 2023 – Jun 11, 2023
- French Drawings from the CollectionDec 13, 1994 – Mar 12, 1995
- Directions in Drawing II: The Human FigureNov 5, 1991 – Jan 12, 1992
- Treasures on PaperMay 10, 1988 – Jul 24, 1988
- The Lessons of the AcademyFeb 8, 1983 – May 29, 1983
