Charon and the Souls of the Dead (c. 1858): Art, History and Details

Charon and the Souls of the Dead (c. 1858) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, 1827–1875).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This drawing was likely created during time that Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux spent in Rome, where he studied the work of Renaissance masters. Carpeaux was particularly influenced by Michelangelo, especially the Italian sculptor’s compositions featuring twisted bodies and stacked forms. This drawing is one of several that were created in preparation for a painting—which was never completed—of Charon, responsible for ferrying deceased souls to the world of the dead.

Object facts

• Title: Charon and the Souls of the Dead
• Date: c. 1858
• Creator attribution: Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, 1827–1875)
• Culture: France, 19th century
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: Pen and brown ink and graphite on antique laid paper (recto), black chalk on antique laid paper (verso)
• Dimensions: Sheet: 16.1 x 22.4 cm (6 5/16 x 8 13/16 in.)
• Collection: DR - French
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 2019.251

A detail from the museum

This drawing was probably Carpeaux’s first version of the subject. In later sketches, he greatly reduced the number of figures in the composition.

Collection credit

Bequest of Muriel Butkin

Further reading listed by the museum

• Drawing Shop. The Non-Dissenters: Second Exhibition : David Through Meissonier : March 5-April 19. [New York]: The Drawing Shop, 1963.
• Shepherd Gallery, and Martin L. H. Reymert. Ingres & Delacroix Through Degas & Puvis De Chavannes: The Figure in French Art, 1800-1870 : Shepherd Gallery, May-June, 1975 : Catalog. New York: The Gallery, 1975.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.