1763 -1788 · Paris, workshop of David and Rome

Roman austerity, powerful anatomy and dazzling career made Jean-Germain Drouais one of the great hopes of French neoclassicism.

Jean-Germain Drouais was born in Paris in 1763 into a dynasty of portrait painters. At a very young age, he nevertheless chose history painting and entered the studio of Jacques-Louis David. Their relationship became central: Drouais shared the search for a moral art, stripped down and based on Antiquity. After several attempts, he won the Prix de Rome in 1784 with Christ and the Canaanite. The composition organized the test of faith through simple gestures, clearly separated groups and contained emotion. He joined David in Rome and participated in the working atmosphere surrounding The Oath of the Horatii. He joined David in Rome and participated in the working atmosphere surrounding The Oath of the Horatii. He joined David in Rome and participated in the working atmosphere surrounding The Oath of the Horatii. He joined David in Rome and participated in the working atmosphere surrounding The Oath of the Horatii. He joined David in Rome and participated in the working atmosphere surrounding The Oath of the Horatii. He joined David in Rome and participated in the working atmosphere surrounding The Oath of the Horatii. He joined David in Rome and participated in the working atmosphere surrounding The Oath of the Horatii. He joined David in Rome and painted in 1785, isolates a powerful body at the moment when strength meets vulnerability. The musculature, profile and drape do not serve as a neutral exercise: they give the sacrifice a physical presence. Marius prisoner at Minturnes, completed in 1786, confronts the fallen general with the soldier responsible for killing him. Marius' austere space, raised arm and immobile authority transform the ancient episode into immediate moral conflict. Marius' austere space, raised arm and immobile authority transform the ancient episode into immediate moral conflict. The painting impresses with its reduction of accessories, its dark masses and its monumental scale. Drouais refuses the still dominant decorative elegance and seeks an almost archaic gravity. His career ends abruptly when he dies in Rome in 1788, at twenty-five years old. Despite a limited corpus, his works become references for the revolutionary generation and show to what extent neoclassicism could push sobriety, virtue and tension of the body. The "Jean-Germain Drouais" selection notably compares Marius prisoner at Minturnes and wounded Roman soldier. His reading favors color.

Drouais removes the decor until two forces remain: a body subjected to the test and a moral decision made visible by a single gesture.