French romanticists inject a strong emotional principle and a clearly expressed subjective assessment of events onto their canvases. This pulls the art out of the impartial realm, elevating an ordinary theme up to the level of an ancient tragedy. The brightest representatives of French Romanticism presented in the Museum collection are Theodore Gericault and Eugene Delacroix.

Classic, romantic features and a powerful realistic principle were combined in the art of Theodore Gericault, who likely painted Nude Study. Turning to the depiction of a nude male body in his study, the artist creates an image full of internal strength and energy. The sharp turn of the figure, the bright contrast of the lit face and the painting’s dark background, and the model type himself, which is quite different from the ideal ancient examples, mark the quest for new artistic solutions. The artist called such images “gladiators.” The concept of a romantic worldview, which affirms itself more and more in painting art of this period, is felt in the emotional tension and explosive energy.