The collection was born from the meeting in London between Elmore and Gericault who, after the success of the exhibition of his masterpiece, The Raft of the Medusa in the English capital in 1820, decided to return to England the following year. This second trip was crucial in the evolution of his art, and allowed him to broaden his horizons through the discovery of new artists and new practices, such as lithography and landscape painting.
This collection represents the most precious testimony that has come down to us to date on the artist's stay in England and, beyond that, on the influence that he was to have on the entire French School of painting, despite his premature death at the age of 32. The works that make up this collection are an irreplaceable and moving testimony of a family that has preserved a treasure of rare freshness, as well as a faithful reflection of an era and a beautiful friendship.
Gericault was influenced by the English portraitists he discovered during his stays in London in 1820 and 1821. The Portrait of Zoë Elmore reflects this influence, as well as the painter's interest in the human figure in all its complexity. Contrary to the portraitists of his time who privileged external resemblance and social status, Gericault sought to express what really constituted the human being, his inner world, his psyche.
