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Bust-Length Study of a Man

1848
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 809

Despite the nuanced depiction of the man’s head and face, this painting was intended not as a portrait but as a study of a model. Biard focused on the sitter’s features and expression, producing a compelling likeness. Unfortunately, we do not know the name of the sitter, who posed in the artist’s studio in Paris in 1848. In that year, slavery was abolished definitively in France’s overseas colonies, and Biard received a commission commemorating the event. This study likely relates to that picture (Château de Versailles).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bust-Length Study of a Man
  • Artist: François-Auguste Biard (French, Lyons 1799–1882 Fontainebleau)
  • Date: 1848
  • Medium: Oil on paper, laid down on canvas
  • Dimensions: 20 1/16 × 18 1/2 in. (51 × 47 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Wolfe Fund and Wheelock Whitney III Gift, 2022
  • Object Number: 2022.22
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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