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Study of Apollo for Marsyas (recto)
by Paul Baudry
About the Artwork
When Paul-Jacques-Aimé Baudry was commissioned to create the ceiling paintings for the Grand Foyer of the new Paris Opéra in 1864, for inspiration he visited the Sistine Chapel frescoes by Michelangelo—completed more than 300 years earlier. This drawing depicts the god Apollo from behind, intended for a scene in which Apollo points to the satyr Marsyas, with whom he held a musical competition. The pose and figure type recall Michelangelo’s monumental sculpture of David, which Baudry would have also seen on his Italian journey.
Inscriptions
Monogrammed and inscribed in brown ink, lower right: B / figure d'Apollon du / jugt de Marsyas / foyer de l'opéra. Signed in brown ink, upper right center: Paul Baudry
Provenance
William K. Bixby, St. Louis (according to Shepherd Gallery). [Morin Vassar, Paris (according to Shepherd Gallery)]; [purchased in 1975 by Shepherd Gallery, New York]; purchased in 1976.
Exhibition history
French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001); Dahesh Museum of Art (February 19-May 18, 2002). Themes and Variations: Musical Drawings and Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 25-May 17, 2015).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Paul Baudry (French, 1828–1886)
- Date
- late 1860s
- Medium
- pen and brown ink
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 26.7 x 20.6 cm (10 1/2 x 8 1/8 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- Bequest of Muriel Butkin
- Accession no.
- 2008.373.a
More by Paul Baudry in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00011438
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