This is a study for a monumental painting destroyed during World War II (fig. 1). The work was the fruit of a long and laborious process. For many years Gérard worked on a composition on the theme of Achilles and Patroclus (see C. Marcheteau de Quinçay, op. cit., pp. 22-35). He created a first version of the painting in 1814, but, unsatisfied with the result, destroyed it soon after. The present drawing is one of the studies for the second version, on which he worked with interruptions from 1830 until his death. Although left unfinished, Gérard’s nephew, who also owned this drawing, donated it to the museum in Caen, where it remained until the city’s destruction.
Fig. 1. François-Pascal-Simon Gérard, called Baron Gérard, Achilles swearing to avenge the death of Patroclus, destroyed during World War II. Formerly Musée des Beaux-Arts, Caen.