Head of Vengeance
Pierre Paul Prud'hon
1799–1809
- Medium
- Black and white chalk, with stumping, and with traces of blue chalk, on blue laid paper (faded to tan)
- Dimensions
- 50.8 × 39.9 cm (20 × 15 3/4 in.)
- Genre
- chalk
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
drawings (visual works)black chalkchalkchalk sticksblue chalkwhite chalkprints and drawinginorganic materialstumpingdrawing techniquespaper (fiber product)
About
A study for the figure of Divine Vengeance in Prud’hon’s celebrated paintingJustice and Divine Vengeance Pursuing Crime (1808), the head of Vengeance, who pursues Crime as an agent of Justice, brilliantly reflects the artist’s stated aim for the painting: “to give a commotion to the soul.”Although the drawing’s blue paper has faded almost completely to gray, the work’s expressive power remains intact.
