Jacques Louis David: Radical Draftsman - The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jacques Louis David: Radical Draftsman will be the first exhibition devoted to works on paper by the celebrated French artist who navigated vast artistic and political divides throughout his life—from his birth in Paris in 1748 to his death in exile in Brussels in 1825. His iconic works captured the aspirations and suffering of a nation, while addressing timeless themes that continue to resonate today.

Through the lens of his preparatory studies, the exhibition looks beyond his public successes to chart the moments of inspiration and the progress of ideas. Visitors will follow the artist’s process as he gave form to the neoclassical style and created major canvases that shaped the public’s perceptions of historical events in the years before, during, and after the French Revolution.

Organized chronologically, the exhibition will feature more than eighty drawings and oil sketches—including rarely loaned or newly discovered works—drawn from the collections of The Met and dozens of institutional and private lenders.

Accompanied by a catalogue.

The exhibition is made possible by the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust.

Additional support is provided by the Margaret and Richard Riney Family Foundation and The Schiff Foundation.

The catalogue is made possible by the Drue E. Heinz Fund.

Additional support is provided by the Tavolozza Foundation and Hubert and Mireille Goldschmidt.

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Exhibition Objects

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Seated Male Nude in Three-Quarter View, with Right Arm Extended to the Left, Jacques Louis David French, Black chalk, stumped, heightened with white — Seated Male Nude in Three-Quarter View, with Right Arm Extended to the Left
ca. 1774–75

Seated Male Nude in Three-Quarter View, Head Turned to the Right, with Bent Right Leg Resting on a Platform, Jacques Louis David French, Black chalk, stumped, heightened with white — Seated Male Nude in Three-Quarter View, Head Turned to the Right, with Bent Right Leg Resting on a Platform
ca. 1774–75

Two Studies of the Head of a Young Man Crowned with a Laurel Wreath, Jacques Louis David French, Black chalk — Two Studies of the Head of a Young Man Crowned with a Laurel Wreath
ca. 1775–80

Alpine Landscape with a Horse-Drawn Carriage Traversing a Pass; from Roman Album no. 10, leaf 17, Jacques Louis David French, Black chalk, traces of white heightening — Alpine Landscape with a Horse-Drawn Carriage Traversing a Pass; from Roman Album no. 10, leaf 17
ca. 1775–80

Statue of a Standing Woman; from Roman Album no. 6, leaf 5, Jacques Louis David French, Red chalk with brush and brown wash — Statue of a Standing Woman; from Roman Album no. 6, leaf 5
ca. 1775–80

Statue of a Standing Woman (Anchyrroe); from Roman Album no. 6, leaf 5, Jacques Louis David French, Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, over black chalk — Statue of a Standing Woman (Anchyrroe); from Roman Album no. 6, leaf 5
ca. 1775–80

A Young Woman of Frascati, Jacques Louis David French, Red chalk; framing lines in pen and brown ink, irregularly cut — A Young Woman of Frascati
ca. 1775–76

View of the Campidoglio in Rome, Jacques Louis David French, Brush and gray wash over black chalk — View of the Campidoglio in Rome
ca. 1775–80

Latest reviews

A landmark exhibition… stages the ultimate showdown of culture and politics.

New York Times

A stunning, and surprisingly unprecedented, show.

The Wall Street Journal

Magnificent.

Financial Times

Video

Virtual Opening

Join Curator Perrin Stein for a virtual tour of Jacques Louis David: Radical Draftsman, the first exhibition devoted to works on paper by the celebrated French artist.

Perspectives

Prisons Real and Imagined

In Jacques Louis David’s The Death of Socrates (1787), a parable of principle on the eve of the French Revolution.

Perspectives

The Death of Socrates: New Discoveries

Technical examination of Jacques Louis David’s masterpiece reveals that the refinements seen in the artist’s preparatory drawings didn’t end when he began painting—rather, they continued through all stages of its execution.