Portrait of the Marquis de Besplas 1851

Curator: This is Théodore Chassériau's "Portrait of the Marquis de Besplas." It's a pencil drawing on paper. Editor: He looks rather melancholic, doesn't he? Such soft lines, as if he's fading into the background. Curator: Indeed. Chassériau, born in 1819, captures the marquis with incredible delicacy. Notice the hatching and cross-hatching; they give form and depth with such economy. Editor: The rendering of the clothing is superb. His social status is palpable, yet rendered almost like a sketch—unfinished, even. Curator: Perhaps reflecting the changing social tides of the era? It's in the Harvard Art Museums' collection. It certainly invites introspection on the fleeting nature of status. Editor: A fleeting image, then, captured for posterity. Makes you wonder what became of the marquis.