Girodet, Romantic Rebel at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

This exhibition, the first retrospective devoted to this artist, will examine the dramatic oeuvre of the important early Romantic artist Anne-Louis Girodet (1767–1824). It will include approximately 130 works, including monumental paintings that are among the most famous in the Musée du Louvre—to be shown outside that museum for the first time—as well as historical scenes and a selection of works on paper. The artist was among the most celebrated students of Jacques-Louis David. If Girodet’s art represents all the principles of his teacher, it reflects too his own fascination with sophisticated compositions, controversy, highly emotional subjects, and contemporary literary themes. A first-hand witness to the disruptions caused by the French Revolution and Napoleon’s rise to power, Girodet painted many portraits in which he made clear his stance regarding the major issues of his day. The exhibition will consider the most contentious, intriguing, and significant aspects of the artist’s work, including his literary sources, his development of new subject matter, political issues, and his interest in the diversity of mankind.

This retrospective was initiated by the Cleveland Museum of Art and is co-organised by the Réunion des musées nationaux/musée du Louvre, Paris, in collaboration with The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, The Art Institute of Chicago and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10028-0198
Phone: 212-535-7710