Collection: Pierre Narcisse Guerin

Pierre Narcisse Guérin (1774–1833) was a prominent French painter known for his mastery of Neoclassical art. He studied under the influential artist Nicolas-Guy Brenet and went on to influence a generation of artists, including Eugène Delacroix, with his dramatic, meticulously composed works. Guérin was best known for his mythological and historical subjects, often painted in a highly refined, dramatic style that emphasized emotional intensity.

Two of his most famous works include The Return of Marcus Sextus (1799), a tragic scene depicting a Roman soldier returning to find his family devastated, and Phaedra and Hippolytus (1802), which captures the intensity of Greek myth with a sophisticated understanding of human emotion and classicist restraint. Guérin's use of light and shadow, along with his rigorous attention to detail, gave his work a cinematic, theatrical quality, aligning with the values of Neoclassicism by drawing on classical themes and ideals of beauty and heroism.

He won the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1797, which allowed him to study in Italy. Later, he became a director of the French Academy in Rome, where he mentored many young artists. His legacy is significant within the transition from Neoclassicism to Romanticism, bridging the strict formalism of his predecessors with the emerging emotionalism of the Romantic movement.