This drawing is a study for the decoration of the Chapelle de l'Institut des Jeunes Aveugles in Paris. The figure appears in a hemicycle with Christ at the center, flanked by saints. He retains the pose found on this sheet, but Lehmann moves the lion to sit on the other side of St. Mark, replacing him with a gospel tome open to reveal an identifying inscription.
The Institute was created by decree of the Assemblee in 1791 and served as the leading school for lawyers. Since 1843, the Institute has been housed on the boulevard des Invalides in a building constructed by the architect Philippon. With the creation of the new home for the Institute, artists were commissioned to decorate its interiors, including Lehmann, who worked there from 1843 until 1850.
Artist's stamp in blue ink at lower right corner, "H. LEHMANN"; numbered in graphite at bottom center, "68".
Watermark: none.
Johnson, Alexander B. V., former owner.
Aubrun, Marie-Madeleine., and Lehmann, Henri. Henri Lehmann : 1814-1882 : Catalogue Raisonné De L'œuvre / Marie-Madeleine Aubrun. France]: Association Les Amis De Henri Lehmann, 1984, no. 678A, D689.