Baron Léjeas, Vicar-General in the Service of the Archbishop of Paris; verso: blank 1805 - 1824

Curator: Jacques-Louis David sketched this portrait of Baron Léjeas, Vicar-General in the Service of the Archbishop of Paris. Editor: It strikes me as a study in power, even in its draft form. The grid lines impose a structure, a control, over the Vicar-General's image. Curator: Absolutely. David's strategic use of the grid could reflect the rigid social hierarchies of the time. The Church’s power dynamics are palpable, Léjeas contained, almost trapped within the composition. Editor: And yet, there’s a vulnerability too. The unfinished quality, the ghost of the chair, speaks to the fleeting nature of authority, how easily images and ideologies can be destabilized. Curator: An interesting interpretation. Ultimately, I think David captured the essence of a man caught between spiritual authority and the shifting sands of revolution. Editor: I see the power of symbols in the act of creation itself, the enduring quest to immortalize and, therefore, understand our leaders, no matter how flawed.