Following the Revolution of 1848, the new Second Republic government commissioned Couture to paint "The Enrollment of the Volunteers of 1792" for the Hall of Sessions of the National Assembly. The government sought a unifying message of patriotism by highlighting a historical moment when, amid the turbulence of the Revolution initiated in 1789, Frenchmen of many classes came together in defense of the Republic, then at war with Austria. This study for the left portion of the composition lays out the frieze-like procession of the volunteers. The workmen strain with the labor of pulling a cannon forward, while a young aristocrat following at their heels raises his arm with enthusiasm.
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Paris. Cabinet des dessins, Musée du Louvre. "Dessins français du Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York de David à Picasso," October 25, 1973–January 7, 1974.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings and Prints: Selections from the Permanent Collection," May 5–September 14, 1998.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings and Prints: Selections from the Permanent Collection," July 13–October 4, 2009.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Selections from the Department of Drawings and Prints: Revolution, Resistance, and Activism," July 29, 2021–January 17, 2022.
"Ninety-first Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year 1960-1961: Review of the Year." in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, n.s. vol. 20, no. 2, New York, October 1961, p. 47 upper rig, ill.
Jane Van Nimmen Thomas Couture, Paintings and Drawings in American collections. Ex. cat. 1970, cat. no. 6, fig. no. pl. 6, p. 54, ill.
Thomas Couture, 1815-1879, Drawings and Some Oil Sketches. Ex. cat. Shepherd Gallery, New York, 1971, cat. no. 6, ill.
Jacob Bean, Linda Boyer Gillies, Cynthia Lambros, Roseline Bacou, Réunion des Musées Nationaux Dessins français du Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: de David à Picasso 54th Exposition de Cabinet des Dessins Musée du Louvre, 25 octobre 1973–7 janvier 1974. Paris, 1973.
Enrollment of the Volunteers: Thomas Couture and the Painting of History Ex. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Mass., April 13-June 8, 1980 ; The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, July 1-August 30, 1980 ; Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Mass., September 20-November 2, 1980. Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Illinois, 1980, cat. no. 6, p. 90, ill.
Marie-José Salmon L'enrôlement des Volontaires de 1792: Thomas Couture (1815-1879): les artistes au service de la patrie en danger. Exh cat., Musée départemental de l'Oise. Beauvais, France, 1989, p. 25, ill.
Colta Ives, Elizabeth E. Barker Romanticism and the School of Nature : Nineteenth-Century Drawings and Paintings from the Karen B. Cohen Collection. Exh. cat.: October 17 - January 21, 2001. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Yale University Press, New York, 2000, fig. no. 50, p. 158.
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The Met's collection of drawings and prints—one of the most comprehensive and distinguished of its kind in the world—began with a gift of 670 works from Cornelius Vanderbilt, a Museum trustee, in 1880.
