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RECTO : A SHEET OF STUDIES: A WINGED DEMON WRESTLING TWO SNAKES, AND TWO FORESHORTENED STUDIES OF FIGURES, SEEN FROM ABOVE;
VERSO : STUDY OF A YOUNG MAN RUNNING WITH A BULL

measurements note
191 by 250mm; 7 1/2 by 9 13/16 in

black and red chalk and black lead (recto);
black lead (verso)

PROVENANCE

Pierre Olivier Dubaut (L.2103b)

NOTE

This drawing makes an interesting comparison to a sheet of studies in a private collection, Paris, which is thought to date from Gericault's time in Italy, between Autumn 1816 and Winter 1817 (See W. Whitney, Gericault in Italy, New Haven 1997, p. 184, fig. 233). The drawing in Paris includes a small compositional study for Christ Driving the Money-lenders from the Temple, and other figure studies, two of which are close to those in the present sheet. At the upper left of the Paris sheet is a study of a young man running beside a horse. Just like the figure running with the bull on the verso of our sheet, his head is turned away, he holds the reins with one hand, and the other arm is thrown around the animal's neck. Such figures are reminiscent of Gericault's projects from this time: The Start of the Race of the Barberi Horses, and The Cattle Market. The second study on the Paris sheet is a small sketch of a man struggling with two snakes, which he holds in each hand in the same manner as the demon on the recto of our drawing. Although neither of the studies on the present sheet is specifically connected with any painting by Géricault, the drawing is an excellent example of the exploratory nature of the artist's Roman work.