Face in Profile (verso) (late 1860s): Art, History and Details

Face in Profile (verso) (late 1860s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Paul Baudry (French, 1828–1886).

The work and its context

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

When Paul-Jacques-Aimé Baudry was commissioned to create the ceiling paintings for the Grand Foyer of the new Paris Opéra in 1864, for inspiration he visited the Sistine Chapel frescoes by Michelangelo—completed more than 300 years earlier. This drawing depicts the god Apollo from behind, intended for a scene in which Apollo points to the satyr Marsyas, with whom he held a musical competition. The pose and figure type recall Michelangelo’s monumental sculpture of David, which Baudry would have also seen on his Italian journey.

Object facts

• Title: Face in Profile (verso)
• Date: late 1860s
• Creator attribution: Paul Baudry (French, 1828–1886)
• Culture: France, 19th century
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: pen and brown ink
• Dimensions: Sheet: 26.7 x 20.6 cm (10 1/2 x 8 1/8 in.)
• Collection: DR - French
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 2008.373.b

Collection credit

Bequest of Muriel Butkin

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.