Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus

The present picture is a study for two figures in a large Deposition (425 x 233cm.) exhibited at the Salon of 1789. This imposing religious scene had been ordered from the artist by the Director of the Bâtiments du Roi to be placed on the main altar at the Trinity Chapel of the Château de Fontainebleau. The painting was never installed and is today in the Musée du Louvre.

In the artist's studio sale in 1830, the present study was described as: 'Deux têtes de vieillards et colossals, l'une dans la demi-teinte et l'autre dans la lumière'.