October 6-7 2008
South Bend, Indiana

The Revolution found Fabre in Rome, but as he was not sympathetic to Republican ideals, he moved to Florence where he found the intellectual community both international and open-minded. In this oil sketch for a large painting, Fabre presents the highest moment of Marius’s life, when his would-be assassin is so intimidated by his demeanor that he drops his weapon and flees.

Oil over ink on paper mounted to canvas
12 ½ x 15 1/8 inches
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin
1980.027.006

Reproduced courtesy of the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame.

Moitte was a well-known sculptor of the period, known for his use of Roman imagery. The inscription on the base, “Aux manes des vainqueurs,” resonates with other commemorative works from the Republic in its use of a Latin word, “manes” to describe the spirits of the dead.

The most prominent figures in the monument are near the top. The first grouping almost certainly represents Victory crowning the spirits of the victors, the youth of France. The bust at the top is most likely that of Minerva, a common figure used to represent the French Republic. The monument is otherwise adorned with Roman military paraphernalia, adding to the overall militaristic feel of the piece. Interestingly, the prominent map in the center, surrounded by a laurel wreath and overlaid by the word “Victoire!”, does not depict the sites of battles but instead shows major European cities, perhaps alluding not to military but ideological victories.

Black chalk, pen and grey ink, brown and blue wash
17 ¾ x 12 ¾ inches
On extended loan from Mr. John D. Reilly, Class of 1963
L2006.003.002

Reproduced courtesy of the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame.

In this charming sketch, Guérin has dressed his sitter in a high-waisted fashionable empire-line dress with her hair tied back in the Greek style, and the chair with its rolled back recalls antique capitals.

Black chalk, heightened by white chalk, on brown paper. Black chalk on verso.
9 3/8 x 6 3/8 inches
On extended loan from Mr. John D. Reilly, Class of 1963
L2007.014.001

Reproduced courtesy of the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame.

Gérard is most well known for his skill as a portraitist, and this painting of Jean-Louis Regnier was made at the height of the painter’s career. Regnier had distinguished himself as a volunteer in 1792, and rose quickly through the ranks of the army. Although this painting was made circa 1809, it recalls the Battle of the Pyramids of 1798, perhaps Regnier’s most glorious moment.

Gouache with white heightening on vellum
8 ¼ x 6 11/16 inches
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin
1979.103.001

Reproduced courtesy of the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame.

In this painting, Valenciennes illustrates Lafontaine’s seventeenth-century retelling of the Psyche story, in which a hermit rescues the heroine and guides her to his hilltop retreat.

Oil on canvas (relined)
16 x 22 1/8 inches
Museum purchase by exchange, Mr. Robert Mayer
1986.055

Reproduced courtesy of the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame.

This scene presents an imagined attack by the Roman Army on a walled city where besieged citizens defend themselves against the onslaught of a carefully drawn battling ram.

Reproduced courtesy of the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame.

The career of Raymond de Sèze is most well known for the part he played in the trial of Louis XVI. De Sèze defended the king on a strictly legal basis, citing the Constitution in his case. Girodet shows the lawyer here, meditating on the defense of the king, quill in hand, his arm resting on Cicero’s Pro rege Dejotarum.

Graphite and black chalk on tracing paper
14 x 11 ½ inches
Gift of Mr. John D. Reilly, Class of 1963
2000.074.007

Reproduced courtesy of the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame.

The Egyptian caryatides on these urns were doubtless inspired by the ill-fated yet much-celebrated Egyptian campaign of 1799. Upon his return to Paris, Napoleon and his troops brought hundreds of artifacts pillaged from temples and Pyramids and launched a veritable rage for Egyptian decor under the Empire

Pen and black ink and grey wash over black chalk on laid paper
Gift of Mr. John D. Reilly, Class of 1963, in honor of Virginia A. Marten
2006.058

Reproduced courtesy of the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame.

Ulysses asking the women to carry the bodies of Penelope’s lovers. This drawing, executed in 1791, utilizes a marked division between light and dark. Ulysses stands in the shade, triumphantly raising his bow, with a male figure, possibly Telemachus, by his side; in the light are mostly women, working to meet Ulysses’ demand. As in David’s Oath of the Horatii, the two sides seem to demonstrate a contrast between masculinity and femininity, between action and its effects.

Black chalk, pen and brown ink, grey wash heightened with white
7 ½ x 14 3/8 inches
On extended loan from Mr. John D. Reilly, Class of 1963
L1998.021.004

Reproduced courtesy of the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame.

Bidaud draws our eye from the foreground to the town in the middle ground by way of the path, a common linking device in European landscape scenes. Narni was a well-known tourist site in the Italian province of Umbria. There is a movement from foreground to middle ground, where Narni’s linear architecture contrasts sharply with the surrounding wooded hills.

Pen, brown ink, and wash on beige laid paper
6 1/8 x `12 ¾ inches
On extended loan as a promised gift from Mr. John D. Reilly, Class of 1963
1988.021.001

Reproduced courtesy of the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame.

This intimate scene follows upon the style for images of mother-child relationships and female friendships as they were celebrated by women artists of the period, notably Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun and Marguerite Gérard.

Pen and ink on laid paper
7 15/16 x 11 ¾ inches
On extended loan as a promised gift from Mr. John D. Reilly, Class of 1963
L1988.060.004

Reproduced courtesy of the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame.

This portrait, characteristic of the later years of the revolutionary period, presents a young woman in modest dress majestically posed against a sober, dark backdrop. Charpentier draws attention to the refined dress and harmony of the woman’s appearance: over her long hair sits a fine white silk turban; a discreet fichu highlights her smooth skin, dark gown, and the lustrous gold of her shawl, which is reflected back by the glint from her gold earring and the sparkle in her eyes.

Oil on canvas
21 ¼ x 17 ¾ inches
Museum purchase by exchange, the Braschi purchase and an anonymous benefactor
1994.019

Reproduced courtesy of the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame.