Hippolyte Flandrin

Hippolyte Flandrin, along with his brother Paul, was among the pupils of Ingres who achieved a measure of success. After winning the Prix de Rome, he developed a specialty in religious scenes while in Italy, and upon his return to France began receiving more commissions for decorative schemes than he could manage. His style was shaped by Raphael and the Italian masters he studied while abroad, which allowed him to adapt the manner associated with Ingres to the taste of a new generation.
Founded in the third century and considered the oldest church in Paris, St. Germain des Prés preserves a range of decorations from the Romanesque to Flandrin's decoration of the nave. Flandrin began work decorating the church in 1842 and would continue until he died in 1864, ultimately producing eighty-five paintings for the project. His work on the nave decoration began in 1856. He produced twenty biblical scenes surmounted by monumental single or double figures of biblical figures using an encaustic technique that yielded a subdued effect in keeping with neoclassic taste.
This study is for the figure of the prophet King David in the upper register of the nave. He stands with one hand formed into a fist pressed to his breast and the other supported by the hilt of his sword. David was appointed King of Judah and eventually became king of the united Israelite tribes. An oil sketch on paper of this figure, and a second one of the prophet Jeremiah, appeared at auction in Paris (Paris, Ader, 21 March 2023, lot 1114).