Dr. Thomas Dagoumer (1762-1833/1835) 1819

Editor: This is Pierre-Paul Prud'hon's portrait of Dr. Thomas Dagoumer, housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. He looks a little melancholic, doesn't he? What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a carefully constructed image of bourgeois sensibility. Note the sitter’s intense focus on the letter. Do you think that posture is natural, or carefully posed? Editor: Posed, definitely! He's holding it so deliberately. Curator: Precisely. Prud'hon uses Dagoumer's profession and literacy to subtly reinforce an image of social and intellectual respectability. It speaks to the rising importance of meritocracy at the time. Editor: Ah, so it's not just a portrait, it's a statement about social mobility! Curator: Exactly. Prud'hon is very deliberately crafting an image for public consumption. Editor: That really changes how I see it. Thanks!