id: 118918 accession number: 1940.1117 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1940.1117 updated: 2025-02-09 00:31:13.118000 A Mameluke Chief on Horseback Signaling for Help, 1817. Antoine-Jean Gros (French, 1771–1835). Lithograph; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection 1940.1117 title: A Mameluke Chief on Horseback Signaling for Help title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1817 creation date earliest: 1817 creation date latest: 1817 current location: creditline: Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection copyright: --- culture: France, 19th century technique: lithograph department: Prints collection: PR - Lithograph type: Print find spot: catalogue raisonne: Béraldi Vol.VII.260.1 --- CREATORS * Antoine-Jean Gros (French, 1771–1835) - artist Antoine-Jean Gros's parents, who were both miniaturists, taught their son painting at an early age. He also pursued his education with Elisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842), David (q.v.), whose studio he entered in 1785, and at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture two years later. Discouraged by his unsuccessful attempt for the Prix de Rome in 1792 and following his father's death, he ended his studies and supported himself by portrait painting. David helped him secure a passport and Gros left for Italy in 1793. In Genoa he met Joséphine de Beauharnais, who later introduced him to Napoleon Bonaparte in Milan. There Gros made a study of him for his painting Bonaparte on the Bridge at Arcole, 17 November 1796 (1796, Musée du Château de Versailles; Salon 1801). This work established his reputation, and he was given a position on the committee responsible for removing artwork from Italy for the Louvre. When Napoleon left for Egypt, Genoa came under Austrian control and Gros was forced to stay for two months during the siege. After the city was evacuated, Gros returned to Paris in 1800 and continued to receive commissions from Bonaparte to paint contemporary military victories. He also painted portraits of members of the military and high society. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1814, he was made portrait painter to Louis XVIII. Within two years he was appointed professor at the École des Beaux-Arts, replacing the exiled David. In almost two decades as a teacher, Gros had hundreds of pupils, and thus was, besides David, one of the most influential artists of his time. While continuing to paint scenes from contemporary history, he also attempted to make mythological and allegorical compositions, but these works received little critical acclaim. Gros was awarded the title of baron by Charles X and asked to paint several ceilings in the galleries at the Louvre. His work, however, began to be perceived as outmoded, and his criticism of Ingres's influence within the École des Beaux-Arts added to his unpopularity. When his final effort for a classical comeback at the Salon of 1835 was heavily criticized, Gros drowned himself in the Seine. --- measurements: state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Baron Gros, Painter of Battles: The First Romantic Painter opening date: 1956-03-08T05:00:00 Baron Gros, Painter of Battles: The First Romantic Painter. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 8-April 15, 1956). title: Animals as Romantic Icons in French Art opening date: 1986-04-06T04:00:00 Animals as Romantic Icons in French Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 6-July 27, 1986). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Catalogue of an exhibition of the art of lithography: commemorating the sesquicentennial of its invention, 1798-1948. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, November 11, 1948-January 2, 1949. Published as: Chef de mamelucks à cheval, appelant du secours. page number: Mentioned: p. 38; Reproduced: Plate IV url: https://archive.org/details/Lithography/page/n83 --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1940.1117/1940.1117_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1940.1117/1940.1117_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1940.1117/1940.1117_full.tif