The body of Jesus Christ is being carried into a dark space.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Unable to open [object Object]: HTTP 0 attempting to load TileSource: https://ids.lib.harvard.edu/ids/iiif/17387745/info.json
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The limp body of Jesus Christ is being lifted by two men into a darken space. His curved body fills most of the page. White light from behind shines on them. The man to the left and behind Jesus supports his shoulders and looks in the direction of the darkness. The man to the right lifts his feet. Jesus' bearded face is seen in profile, his brown hair curls over his shoulders, and his muscular body is dressed only in a loin cloth. Behind him, and to the right, are two figures, one resting his bowed head on Christ's left arm, and the other, with eyes cast upwards, has his hands pressed together in prayer.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.826
People
Théodore Géricault, French (Rouen 1791 - 1824 Paris)
Title
The Entombment
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1816-1817
Culture
French
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/297613

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Black chalk, gray and black wash, and white gouache on brown wove paper
Dimensions
16.2 x 22.2 cm (6 3/8 x 8 3/4 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • collector's mark: lower left, black ink: P.O.D. [encircled] [Lugt 2103b, mark of Pierre Olivier Dubaut]
  • collector's mark: lower left, black ink: COUTAN HAUGUET / COLLECTION / SCHUBERT MILLET [encircled] [Lugt 464, mark of L. J. A. Coutan]
  • inscription: verso, top, graphite: 11-1 Gericault

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
L. J. A. Coutan (Lugt 464), Paris, by descent; to his wife, Mme Coutan, 1830, by descent; to her brother, Ferdinand Hauget, 1838, by descent; to his son, Maurice-Jacques-Albert Hauguet, 1869, by descent; to his wife, Mme Hauguet, by descent; to her siser, Mme. Gustave Millet, sold [through Hôtel Drouot, commisaaire-priseur Escribe, December 16, 1889, lot 172]. P. A. Chéramay, sold [through Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, May 5, 1908, no. 257]. Pierre Olivier Dubaut, Paris (Lugt 2103b), sold [via Martin Birnbaum]; to Grenville Lindall Winthrop, 1931, bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.826
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT BY THE TERMS OF ITS ACQUISITION TO THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS.

The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Publication History

  • Catalogue des tableaux, aquarelles, dessins par Bonington, Charlet, David, Decamps, Eugène Delacroix..., auct. cat., Hôtel Drouot (Paris, December 16, 1889), p. 47, lot 172
  • Henri Zerner, "Théodore Géricault: Artist of Man and Beast", Apollo (June 1978), vol. CVII, no. 196, pp. 480-486, p. 481, repr. as fig. 2
  • Germain Bazin, Théodore Géricault: Etude critique, documents, et catalogue raisonné, Wildenstein Institute (Paris, France, 1987 -1997), vol. 4, no. 1282, repr., also p. 28
  • Agnes Mongan, David to Corot: French Drawings in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA, 1996), cat. no. 169, repr.
  • Jeffrey Fontana, Timeless Beauty: Representing the Ideal in Necoclassical Drawing, brochure, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 1999), checklist no. 23

Exhibition History

Related Objects

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu