Bonaparte reviving the city of Lyon
Pierre Revoil was born in Lyon and entered the studio of Jacques-Louis David in 1795. Lyon had suffered significant destruction and loss during the siege of 1793. After Bonaparte visited the city on June 29th, 1800, Revoil began work on a large allegorical painting celebrating the new era.
In Revoil’s composition, the weakened state of the city is conveyed by her weary personification as she reaches up to take the hand of Bonaparte. Around her, several genii echo her distress while others can be seen crushed under stones as a large serpent slithers through the ruins. On the left, a jubilant parade of genii bears the attributes of the arts and sciences, signaling the rebirth of the city.
Revoil exhibited the painting in the Salon of 1804, after which it was purchased for the Hôtel de Ville in Lyon. It would then be destroyed at the time of the Bourbon restoration in 1816. This drawing is presumably the first of three known studies for the lost painting, including one is in the Musée du Louvre (inv. RF 41024) and one in the Musée des Beaux-arts in Lyon (inv. A 3014). In the two later drawings, the composition was reversed and some of the more gruesome details omitted. Following what would almost certainly have been his preference, Bonaparte's is now depicted in contemporary dress rather than antique garb.
In Revoil’s composition, the weakened state of the city is conveyed by her weary personification as she reaches up to take the hand of Bonaparte. Around her, several genii echo her distress while others can be seen crushed under stones as a large serpent slithers through the ruins. On the left, a jubilant parade of genii bears the attributes of the arts and sciences, signaling the rebirth of the city.
Revoil exhibited the painting in the Salon of 1804, after which it was purchased for the Hôtel de Ville in Lyon. It would then be destroyed at the time of the Bourbon restoration in 1816. This drawing is presumably the first of three known studies for the lost painting, including one is in the Musée du Louvre (inv. RF 41024) and one in the Musée des Beaux-arts in Lyon (inv. A 3014). In the two later drawings, the composition was reversed and some of the more gruesome details omitted. Following what would almost certainly have been his preference, Bonaparte's is now depicted in contemporary dress rather than antique garb.
Artwork Details
- Title: Bonaparte reviving the city of Lyon
- Artist: Pierre Henri Revoil (French, Lyon 1776–1842 Lyon)
- Date: ca. 1800–04
- Medium: Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk, heightened with white gouache
- Dimensions: Sheet: 14 5/16 × 21 3/8 in. (36.4 × 54.3 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Goldschmidt Gift and Harvey Salzman Gift, 2024
- Object Number: 2024.282
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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