# Head of a Guillotined Man **Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault** (French, 1791–1824) 1818–19 Oil on panel 41 × 38 cm (16 1/8 × 14 15/16 in.); Framed: 53.3 × 50.8 × 7.6 cm (21 × 20 × 3 in.) Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1992.628. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/119264). ## About this work This painting is one of several that Géricault produced of decapitated heads and severed limbs, and he likely painted it directly from life. The artist is known to have acquired corpses from his local morgue to study anatomy and the effects of decomposition. The head probably belonged to a convicted criminal. At that time in France, executions were carried out by the guillotine, a bladed device that sliced through the necks of its victims. _Text from the Art Institute of Chicago._ Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault painted this in 1818–19, aged 27. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago. ### What you’re looking at A work made of oil on panel. _Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._ ### How it was made - **Oil on panel.** Oil paint on prepared wooden boards, usually oak in the north and poplar in Italy. The rigid, smooth surface suits fine detail and thin, glowing glazes. - **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled. ### [Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/jean-louis-andre-theodore-gericault) French, 1791–1824; born in Rouen; died in Paris Géricault trained with Carle Vernet and Pierre-Narcisse Guérin and studied the old masters in the Louvre, but his passion for horses and modern events shaped his art. The Raft of the Medusa, shown in 1819, turned a recent shipwreck scandal into a vast, harrowing painting, prepared through studies of corpses and severed heads. He spent 1820–21 in England, where he made lithographs of street life and horses. He died at thirty-two after a series of riding accidents. _Written by Ochre Editions._ ## Facts - Type: Painting - Culture: France - The artist was 27 - Real size: about 16 × 15 in (41 × 38 cm). The 12 × 16 in print is close to life size. - Century: 19th century - Subjects: head, black (color), blood, death, France, French, man, study - Colour: brown - Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose. ## Get it - Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/298.jpg?dl=1 - Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/298/1920.jpg - Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148 - Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338 - Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228 - Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5 Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/head-of-a-guillotined-man-aic-119264).