Description
As part of their training in the late 18th century, French artists practiced drawing têtes d'expression, or expressive heads, that display subtleties of human emotion. Greuze made this chalk study in preparation for a painting in which the Roman emperor Septimius Severus rebukes his notoriously ruthless son, Caracalla, for attempting to assassinate him. Although Greuze based this face for the figure of Caracalla on a Roman portrait bust, he imaginatively adapted the facial expression to dramatize Caracalla’s resentment and humiliation during the confrontation.
Provenance
M. and Mme. Jules Porges, Paris (?-?); Comtesse Rosalie de Fitz-James [1862-1923], Paris (?-?); (William H. Schab Gallery, NY) (?-?); Julian Raskin, Scarsdale, NY, by descent to his family (1956-?); (Spink-Leger Pictures, London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?-1999); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1999-)
Accession Number
1999.48
Medium
Red chalk on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 38.8 x 30.3 cm (15 1/4 x 11 15/16 in.); Secondary Support: 45.6 x 37.1 cm (17 15/16 x 14 5/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund