That has been rectified to a significant extent by ‘Girodet, Romantic Rebel’, a major exhibition mounted by the Cleveland Museum of Art and presented in the Louvre in Paris as well as Chicago and New York. It will be closing the final leg of its tour at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on Jan. 21.

Curator Sylvain Bellanger has finally given Girodet the attention and gallery space that allows for the full extent of his life’s work to be appreciated. Even though some of his most monumental works were too large to travel, and high costs prevented the inclusion of some works in the Montreal show, this exhibition is unprecedented in scope and detail and must be seen before it closes.

Arranged chronologically, the exhibition follows not only the development of Girodet’s skills as a draughtsman and portrait painter, but also the political climate of France as it went through one of the most turbulent periods of its history—from the French Revolution to the rise and subsequent exile of Napoleon Bonaparte. Girodet was there to witness the effects of both, and deliberately incorporated their themes of violence and glory into his large, dramatic canvases.

Following the Neoclassical teachings of David, Girodet painted on an epic scale, rendering larger-than-life images of Biblical and mythological events in a style so strongly steeped in the Renaissance doctrines of lighting, composition and subject matter that at first glance many of the works appear to be from the mid-1500s rather than 250 years later.

As was the custom at the time, he also incorporated contemporary figures into classically styled images, creating modern allegories such as the 1801-02 ‘The Apothesis of French Heroes who Died for Their Country during the War for Freedom’—a sweeping blend of chaos and symbol in which French soldiers from the 1790s appear alongside angels and other spectres of nationalistic glory.

His reputation was so well established by the turn of the 19th century that Napoleon appointed him official royal portraitist—a position that gave him the chance to create many of the images that survive as the only record of court life in the decades immediately before the invention of photography. While Napoleon’s armies were sweeping across Europe, Girodet was back in France, busily painting glowing portraits of the Emperor and members of his court. This culminated in one of his masterpieces, ‘Napoleon in Imperial Dress’, which would become one of the most familiar images of the Emperor and, as Girodet painted several copies, would be seen by thousands of French citizens at the time.

Painting during such turbulent times, Girodet produced quintessential works of Romanticism and Neoclassicism—the Academic schools that formed a steady bridge between the archaic traditions and the growing sense of modernism in a rapidly evolving France in the decades just prior to the explosion of Impressionism.

While Girodet's epic scenes of national and religious glory are given due prominence, it is his formidable talent as a portrait painter that comes through the strongest. Portraits ranging from brightly costumed men of exotic Asia to a series of young women of the French aristocracy all display the artist's technical skill and attention to detail.

For those interested in the steps leading up to the creation of the paintings, the exhibition also includes many preliminary sketches and drawings. These provide an intimate glimpse into Girodet’s creative process, showing where he decided to change certain details during the transition from crayon-on-paper to oil-on-canvas.

Exhibitions of this scale are usually accompanied by a formidable catalogue, and this is certainly no exception. The nearly 500-page hardcover tome is easily the best ever written on this shadowy figure in French art history. Edited by curator Bellenger, it includes a series of in-depth essays that examine various aspects of Girodet's life and work from a modern perspective, and is an indispensable part of the exhibition.



'Girodet, Romantic Rebel' continues at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1380 Sherbrooke Street W., through Jan. 21. For information, call 514-285-2000.