General Letellier on His Deathbed
On July 9, 1818, Gericault hastened to the home of General Henry Letellier in the company of their mutual friend, Louis Bro de Comères. The general’s wife had died the preceding month. Depressed, Letellier wrapped his head in his deceased wife’s scarf, his hand in her handkerchief, and shot himself. The gun was still warm when Gericault arrived. The artist made a drawing on the scene from which he produced this painting for Bro de Comères. A version of this subject is in the Oskar Reinhart Collection, Winterthur, Switzerland.
Artwork Details
- Title: General Letellier on His Deathbed
- Artist: Théodore Gericault (French, Rouen 1791–1824 Paris)
- Date: ca. 1818–20
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 9 1/2 × 12 5/8 in. (24.1 × 32.1 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of Christopher Forbes, 2023
- Object Number: 2023.297
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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