Portret van de schilder Jacques-Louis David 1823

Editor: Here we have Julien-Léopold Boilly's 1823 portrait of the painter Jacques-Louis David, rendered in pencil, or perhaps even a print emulating the delicate textures of pencil. What strikes me immediately is the almost unsettling directness of his gaze. What do you make of this piece? Curator: Oh, absolutely! The gaze grabs you, doesn't it? There's a vulnerability there, almost a weariness, that sits at odds with the revolutionary fervor David championed. See how Boilly uses such delicate hatching to build form, almost as if he were composing music. Does it remind you a little bit of, perhaps, an aged Mozart looking back at you across the years? I can almost hear the faint echo of La Marseillaise! How does this resonate with your ideas about the French Revolution and neoclassicism? Editor: I hadn't really considered the vulnerability, just the intensity. I always picture David as this unwavering figure, almost dogmatic in his neoclassicism. But here...there's a softness. Almost… human. Curator: Precisely! The Neoclassical facade crumbling to reveal the soul beneath. The magic of portraiture, right? Capturing not just likeness, but a fragment of a life lived. The Revolution, exile… it all etched itself somewhere. And Boilly, he found it with his pencil. What would David have thought of this portrayal, do you imagine? Editor: He might have hated it! Too revealing, not stoic enough. But I appreciate Boilly showing us this other side. Thanks; I’ll certainly think about David differently now. Curator: And I appreciate *your* fresh eyes reminding me of the dynamism always humming beneath the surface of even the most 'fixed' historical figures. The adventure of art, isn't it? Always offering another layer, another story.