Design for a Mural with the Battle between the Gods of Olympus and the Giants

Design for a Mural with the Battle between the Gods of Olympus and the Giants

Paul Chenavard

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Large design, probably a presentation drawing, consisting of four sheets. The architectural details are painted on separate sheets and pasted on top. The drawing shows a design for a monumental mural depicting a battle between the Gods of Olympus and the Giants. In line with Chenavard’s other works this is probably an allegorical depiction of a deeper, philosophical theme. The composition of the sheet seems closely related to Chenavard’s project for the Pantheon in Paris where he proposed to paint a monumental cycle entitled ‘The Philosophy of History’. Napoleon III cancelled the commission however and the cartoons were shown only ones in 1855 at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. They are now kept in the Musée des Beaux Arts in Lyon.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Design for a Mural with the Battle between the Gods of Olympus and the GiantsDesign for a Mural with the Battle between the Gods of Olympus and the GiantsDesign for a Mural with the Battle between the Gods of Olympus and the GiantsDesign for a Mural with the Battle between the Gods of Olympus and the GiantsDesign for a Mural with the Battle between the Gods of Olympus and the Giants

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.