La Navigation 1810

Pierre-Paul Prud'hon made this drawing with black and white chalk on blue paper. It shows a woman standing in a small boat. Prud'hon was working in France during a time of great social upheaval. The French Revolution challenged traditional hierarchies. The image creates meaning through classical references, echoing ancient Greek or Roman sculptures. At the same time, this woman is not a goddess or an aristocrat, but a commoner working on the water. Was Prud'hon commenting on the changing social order of his time? Was he critiquing the institutions of art, by depicting an ordinary woman using the visual vocabulary of high art? To understand Prud'hon's intentions better, we could look at his other works, along with the writings of contemporary art critics. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.