Circle of Théodore Géricault, French 1791-1824
Academic Study

£9,500

Oil on Canvas
46cm × 37cm (57cm × 49cm framed)

Until the 1930s, this painting was considered to be by Théodore Géricault. Indeed, since its creation c.1810, it has been sold twice as such. However, following the reappraisal, its attribution has been brought into question, instead it is suggested that it may be the hand of Amable Louis Claude Pagnest (French 1790-1819). Like Géricault, Pagnest died at a very young age; he was also a master of painting dynamic males nudes, very much in the Romantic tradition. It may be impossible to know, whether this was painted by Géricault or Pagnest, as over time various male torsos sometimes were successively attributed to one or the other.