Not currently on view
In the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · as of August 2026
FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG
As part of their training in the late 18th century, French artists practiced drawing têtes d'expression, or expressive heads, that display subtleties of human emotion. Greuze made this chalk study in preparation for a painting in which the Roman emperor Septimius Severus rebukes his notoriously ruthless son, Caracalla, for attempting to assassinate him. Although Greuze based this face for the figure of Caracalla on a Roman portrait bust, he imaginatively adapted the facial expression to dramatize Caracalla’s resentment and humiliation during the confrontation.
Be the first to share your thoughts.
Sign in to join the discussion.
Charles Claude de Flahaut (1730–1809), Comte d'Angiviller
Portrait of the Marquis de Saint-Paul
Ange Laurent de La Live de Jully
Head of a Young Woman
Jean Jacques Caffiéri (1725–1792)
Madame Jean-Baptiste Nicolet (Anne Antoinette Desmoulins, 17
Study of a Woman’s Head
Alphonse Legros — Head of a Man
François Boucher — Half-Length Study of a Man
Pietro Antonio III Novelli — Hoofd van een Oosterling
Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) — Half-Figure of a Nu
Hans Troschel — Portrait of a Young Man Leaning on his Hand
Alphonse Legros (French, 1837–1911) — Head of a Young Man
François Boucher (French, 1703–1770) — Male Academy with Win
Faun of sater, zittend naar rechts
Alphonse Legros — Study of a Figure
Louis Marin Bonnet|François Boucher — Head of an Old Man
Gilles Demarteau|François Boucher — Head of a Young Man
Juan Carreño de Miranda — Study of a seated male figure (Ecc