Portrait of Sir Sidney Smith in the Temple Prison

Portrait of Sir Sidney Smith in the Temple Prison

Philippe Auguste Hennequin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A contemporary of Prud’hon and Girodet, Hennequin was briefly in the studio of David before going to Rome. As a devoted Jacobin, he was imprisoned following the death of Robespierre. There, he made the acquaintance of William Sidney Smith (1764-1840), Commodore, and later Admiral, in the British navy who had been captured near Le Havre and would stage a daring escape two years later. After Smith had commissioned a group portrait from Hennequin (British Museum, 1963-12-14-14), the artist presented him this drawing as a gift. Smith is shown calm and collected in his naval uniform, gazing out the barred window. The following year, he would have the drawing etched by Maria Cosway (1760-1838) (National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG D6792). The technique of the drawing showcases Hennequin’s skill with pen and ink; the forms are first delineated in his characteristic taut and springy outline, and the modelling and suggestion of tone are executed in a range of marks, ranging from short hatch marks, to curlicues, to dots.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Portrait of Sir Sidney Smith in the Temple PrisonPortrait of Sir Sidney Smith in the Temple PrisonPortrait of Sir Sidney Smith in the Temple PrisonPortrait of Sir Sidney Smith in the Temple PrisonPortrait of Sir Sidney Smith in the Temple Prison

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.