Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson

Bio

In his last years Girodet was largely unmoved by the stylistic and technical revolutions of the Restoration era, paying scant regard to new artistic conventions. While he produced a handful of drawings of “troubadour” subjects and wrote admiringly of the refined manner of the painters specializing in this genre, he never attempted to work in this style himself. Considering himself outside the Parisian artistic world, he long felt that he had been unfairly victimized by the Napoleonic artistic establishment. Since he had refused to compromise with the Napoleonic dictatorship, it is hardly surprising that he did not endear himself to Vivant Denon (director of the Napoleonic national Museum). Following the Restoration, Girodet sent to the Salon of 1814 almost all his major works, hoping that at last he might attain the recognition he craved. His decision to virtually abandon his career as a history painter, however, seems to have led the Crown to prefer to advance his rivals, Gerard and Gros, who continued to present major works at successive Salons.