Portrait of Félix Ravaisson

1846
Not on view
Jean-Gaspard-Félix Larcher Ravaisson-Mollien (1813–1900) was a noted philosopher and archaeologist. The year Chassériau drew him, Ravaisson was awarded a prize by the French Academy for an essay on Aristotle’s metaphysics. Chassériau’s fondness for Ravaisson is expressed in a letter he wrote to the sitter’s brother Fréderic from Algeria. The painter asked Fréderic to pass on “a thousand fond thoughts to M. Ravaisson. In him, I have found the heart of a friend.” Chassériau’s penciled inscription on the drawing further testifies to that affection.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait of Félix Ravaisson
  • Artist: Théodore Chassériau (French, Le Limon, Saint-Domingue, West Indies 1819–1856 Paris)
  • Date: 1846
  • Medium: Graphite on white wove paper darkened to buff
  • Dimensions: 13 1/8 x 10 in. (33.3 x 25.4 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.1.583
  • Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection

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