Ferdinand Humbert (1842–1934) — Study Of A Haloed Man, Standing Nude - Christ?

Study of a Standing Man with a Halo — Preparatory Sketch for a Religious or Allegorical Composition

Oil on panel, signed on the back — Appraised by Cabinet Turquin, Paris
Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.3 cm

Perhaps an early study of Ferdinand Humbert's Christ at the Column (1875, Orléans, Musée des Beaux-Arts).


This oil on panel, with its beautiful freedom of touch, depicts a standing, almost naked man, draped in a light drape and surrounded by a luminous crown, standing in an architectural setting reminiscent of a temple or an ancient scene. The vigorous modeling, the golden light, and the almost sketchy treatment of the background recall the style of Ferdinand Humbert's preparatory studies for his major decorative cycles (notably those of the Panthéon in Paris and the Hôtel de Ville).

Here, the artist seems to explore the plastic construction of the body and the distribution of light, in a composition where the pictorial material, applied in lively impasto, captures the warmth of flesh tones and the contrast between warm browns and the

Support: Antique wood panel.
Material: Oil, applied in broad strokes and visible impasto.
Palette: Dominantly warm tones (ochres, browns, earthy reds, golden flesh tones) enhanced with soft greens and blues in the background.
Light: Lateral, golden, conferring a mystical and meditative atmosphere.
Style: Late 19th-century academicism tinged with Impressionist freedom in the pictorial treatment.
Condition: Good overall condition, slots, slight age-related cracks visible on the surface.
Signature: On the back, handwritten in ink: Ferdinand Humbert, with expert stamp Turquin, Paris (no. 22.332).
Ferdinand Humbert was one of the great official decorators of the Third Republic. A student of Cabanel and close to Puvis de Chavannes, he created imposing wall decorations and numerous studies of male and female nudes.
This work can be compared to his studies for figures of saints, heroes, and allegorical personifications intended for the decorative ensembles of the Pantheon.
The treatment of the skin tone and the hieratic posture of the haloed figure evoke a Christ or an ancient martyr, a figure of sacrifice and human nobility.
The Cabinet Turquin, one of the most renowned in France for its expertise in ancient works, attributed this panel to Ferdinand Humbert, thus confirming its authenticity and quality.
This type of preparatory study, beautifully crafted and intimate in format, illustrates the artist's research prior to his large-scale mural compositions.

School: French, 19th century (post-Romantic academicism). Period: Late 19th or early 20th century.
Artist: Ferdinand Humbert (1842–1934).
Theme: Study of a male nude with religious or symbolic connotations.

Carefully shipped.

#FerdinandHumbert #OilOnPanel #PaintedSketch #AcademicPainting #FrenchArt #MaleNude #Symbolism #CabinetTurquin #Proantic #19thC Painting #NudeStudy #ArtHistory #ReligiousPainting