Heroic Group 19th-20th century

Leon-Ernest Drivier made this artwork, Heroic Group, using pastel. Drivier was a French artist who worked in a range of styles, including sculpture and painting. This pastel drawing of nudes recalls classical subjects and conventions. But the deliberately rough handling of the pastel medium suggests that Drivier wanted to do more than simply emulate antique sculpture. The heroic subject matter and the artist’s chosen style are suggestive of his affiliation with the Salon system, an artistic institution in France that dated back to the 17th century. Drivier exhibited at the Salon and his work aligns with its traditional values. For more information about French artistic institutions and the politics of imagery, see the museum’s collection of Salon exhibition catalogues and other archival material.