GALERIE CHAPTAL
France
7, rue Chaptal, 75009 Paris
Phone: +33 (0)6 13 08 78 22
julienpetit@galeriechaptal.fr
www.galeriechaptal.fr
Based in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, Galerie Chaptal presents a selection of drawings, paintings and sculptures dating from 19th century to the 1920’s.
Over the years, the gallery has formed trusted connections with collectors, connoisseurs and institutions, both in France and abroad.
Henri REGNAULT
(1843-1871)
Orpheus in the Underworld
Oil on cardboard
Circa 1865
20 x 28.5 cm
Killed in action in 1871 at just 28 years of age, Henri Regnault is the archetypal promising young artist who died at the height of his fame. His death captured the imagination of the artists of the day, inspiring several works, from the Marche héroïque dedicated to him by Camille Saint-Saëns, to the portrait of his corpse by Carolus-Duran, and verses declaimed at the Comédie-Française.
A retrospective exhibition was held at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1872, with a catalog entry written by Théophile Gautier. A monument to his memory by the sculptor Henri Chapu was erected at the École des Beaux Arts.
This is a first sketch for his painting presented for the Prix de Rome competition in 1865. The painting is now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Calais.