PERRAUD, Jean-Joseph
(b. 1819, Monay, Jura, d. 1876, Paris)

Despair

1869
Marble, height 108 cm
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Perraud's works, even at their most classical, afford a glimpse of Romantic anguish. He was admired by Auguste Rodin.

This statue was unanimously admired in plaster at the 1861 Salon and then in marble at the 1869 Salon. The piece struck them as a "giant step" in the evolution of sculpture. This figure, seated on the ground, according to a well-established convention, is intended to be an allegory of the tragic condition of human existence. The figure is without any accessories, and allows the viewer complete freedom of interpretation.