Seated Man and Swaddled Baby

"Seated Man and Swaddled Baby," executed in 1810 by the master Neoclassicist Jacques-Louis David French, 1748-1825, is a poignant example of the artist's draftsmanship late in his career. Created using graphite on ivory wove paper, this intimate drawing deviates slightly from the grand historical narratives for which David is best known, focusing instead on a domestic, yet dignified, scene. The composition reflects the aesthetic sensibilities of early 19th-century France, where portraiture and preparatory studies remained crucial elements of artistic production during the Napoleonic Empire.

The medium of graphite lends itself to delicate shading and precise rendering of form. David employs subtle tonal variations to define the clothing of the seated male figure and the contours of the infant securely wrapped in swaddling clothes. While the drawing appears structurally complete, the immediacy of the medium suggests it may have served as a study or a quick sketch for a larger, perhaps unexecuted, painting. David's meticulous handling of the paper highlights his rigorous academic training, ensuring anatomical correctness and emotional gravity even in a subject so comparatively simple.

This significant work is preserved in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, illustrating the breadth of David’s output beyond monumental canvases. The drawing stands as an important historical record of French artistic production in the 1800s. Although this original work is held securely by the museum, high-quality images of this period drawing are frequently made available for educational use. This ensures that accurate prints and digital representations of the piece are widely accessible, often entering the public domain after extended copyright periods.