Page 61 - Revolution Republique Empire Restauration

Fig. 2
2. Although Louis XVIII conferred upon Girodet the considerable hon-
our of membership in the Order of Saint Michael, France’s oldest chival-
ric institution, and he was elected to the Institute, these tokens were in
recognition of his past standing and not his current achievements. It was
Louis XVIII’s policy to overlook past loyalty to the Napoleonic regime and
the king held few grudges (even those who joined Napoleon during the
hundred days were eventually pardoned). He therefore conferred these
same honours on both Gerard and Gros, who were also created Barons
and given high ranks in the Legion of Honour, further adding to Girodet’s
sense of grievance.
3.A Milanese politician swept from power he settled in Paris in 1806 and
started a major collection of contemporary art. Girodet started his com-
mission for Sommariva late in 1812. On April 13 1813 Bertin told Fabre
‘Girodet says he is going to do a picture for M. de Sommarives .The sub-
ject has yet to be decided’.The subject was secret but the cat was out of
the bag by September 1814 when Julie Candeille wrote to the artist ‘I
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know you are doing Pygmallion which will be lovely.You know what it is
to bring a woman to life.When you performed this service for me , I was
quite an old Galatea….since you, my heart has only paid in counterfeit
coin. Never has a man, no never my friend, never has a man had such
power over a woman. Think of me as you finish Pygmallion.’ (cited in
T.Crow, L’Atelier de David. Émulation et Révolution, Paris 1997.
4.‘I am extremely busy with a painting which has been taking up my time
for ages and that I have restarted several times without success, not
knowing if I would be happier with the previous version. The subject is
Pygmalion and his statue……To be truthful I do not know how I am
going to finish it. But the fate of this painting is to have a resounding suc-
cess or to fall flat on its face; I do not see any other way.’ Letter from
Girodet to Fabre June 20, 1819.
5. The large version is in the Louvre, the reduced variant was with
Matthiesen Fine Art Ltd. In 1989 and again in 2007 and is now at the
Cantor Centre, Stanford University.