Portrait of Félix Ravaisson

Théodore Chassériau

1846 · Graphite on white wove paper darkened to buff · Robert Lehman Collection

Jean-Gaspard-Félix Larcher Ravaisson-Mollien (1813–1900) was a noted philosopher and archaeologist. The year Chassériau drew him, Ravaisson was awarded a prize by the French Academy for an essay on Aristotle’s metaphysics. Chassériau’s fondness for Ravaisson is expressed in a letter he wrote to the sitter’s brother Fréderic from Algeria. The painter asked Fréderic to pass on “a thousand fond thoughts to M. Ravaisson. In him, I have found the heart of a friend.” Chassériau’s penciled inscription on the drawing further testifies to that affection.

Artist

Théodore Chassériau

Date

1846

Medium

Graphite on white wove paper darkened to buff

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975