On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Study of a Bishop and Two Clerics
Jacques Louis David French
Not on view
In order to present his authority as divinely sanctioned, Napoleon arranged to have Pope Pius VII travel to Paris to take part in his coronation. The relationship was an uneasy one, as the Roman Catholic Church had only recently been reintegrated into French society in 1801.
This group of three religious figures, which would become three bishops in the final version, occupied a central place in the composition, as a backdrop to the imperial couple. The men’s importance, both visual and symbolic, is reflected in the care David took with this study, finely detailed and modeled in gray wash.
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