More About the Works on View

The career of Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson (1767–1824) was shaped by the dramatic social and political changes brought about by the French Revolution.

The exhibition begins with paintings and drawings from his years as a student of David in the 1780s. The strong linear contours and sculptural modeling of these works demonstrate the artist's emulation of his master's Neoclassical model. Following the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, Girodet asserted his artistic independence in an austere Pietà, painted for a provincial monastery. His final break with David, however, manifested itself in a mythological painting, The Sleep of Endymion (Louvre, Paris), exhibited to great acclaim at the Paris Salon in 1793.

Girodet subsequently eschewed the rationalism of the Neoclassical style in which he was trained in favor of a more imaginative mode, ranging from the spectral vision of Ossian Receiving the Spirits of the French Heroes, commissioned for Napoleon's retreat at Malmaison, to the apocalyptic Scene from a Deluge (Louvre, Paris). This monumental canvas, depicting three generations of a family balanced precariously over floodwaters, secured Girodet's ultimate triumph over David: in 1810 it was named the best history painting of the decade over David's Intervention of the Sabine Women (Louvre, Paris).

Girodet, like many of David's students, commemorated Napoleon's regime in portraits as well as in history paintings. The exhibition includes one of his paintings of Napoleon in imperial costume as well as drawings and oil sketches related to The Revolt of Cairo (Versailles, Musée national du château). In illustrating this episode from Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, Girodet gives free rein to the exoticism and violence of the emerging Romantic fascination with Orientalism.

The exhibition also features Girodet's portraits of the leading figures of his time, as well as more intimate portrayals of his family members. As Girodet was the most talented draftsman to emerge from David's studio, a selection of his works on paper is exhibited as well.

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Exhibition Organizers

"Girodet: Romantic Rebel" was conceived by Sylvain Bellenger, curator at the Direction des Musées de France, Paris. At The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the exhibition was organized by Gary Tinterow, Engelhard Curator in Charge, and Kathryn Calley Galitz, assistant curator, both of the Department of Nineteenth-Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art. Exhibition design is by Michael Langley, exhibition designer, with graphic design by Sue Koch, senior graphic designer, and lighting by Clint Ross Coller and Richard Lichte, lighting designers, all of the Museum's Design Department.

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Exhibition Catalogue

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue published by Gallimard, which is available in the Museum's bookshops as well as online at The Met Store.

The exhibition catalogue is made possible by The Isaacson-Draper Foundation and The Florence Gould Foundation. Additional support for the catalogue has been provided by the Getty Research Institute and the Getty Grant Program. The Cleveland Museum of Art receives operating support from the Ohio Arts Council.

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Educational Programs

A variety of educational programs is offered in conjunction with the exhibition, including a Sunday at the Met in June and five gallery talks over the course of the exhibition. For more information, please see the online calendar for a list of programs organized by date.

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