France, 19th century / c. 1816–22
The Prisoner
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs The Prisoner as drawing (France, 19th century · c. 1816–22).
Scholars have suggested that Jacques-Louis David might have intended this drawing as a portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, who the artist supported. The former leader died a prisoner on the island of Saint Helena in 1821.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this drawing as black chalk on cream laid paper and credits Jacques-Louis David (French, 1748–1825).
The museum's collection notes: This drawing belongs to a series of enigmatic sheets that the French artist Jacques-Louis David created while living as an exile in Brussels from 1816 until his death in 1825. Many of these untitled works present close-up views of expressive heads and were given by the artist to his friends. This image of a turbaned man next to a hanging chain and oil lamp loosely references David's painting The Intercession of Saint Roch (1780) from much earlier in his career.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtThe PrisonerOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.