National Gallery of Art – Washington, D.C. The Acrobat (c. 1928) by Gaston Lachaise
The Acrobat captures the human form in a moment of pure athletic energy, balance, and rhythm. Frozen mid-motion, the bronze figure flexes with dynamic grace, while a sharp gallery spotlight casts a dramatic shadow against the wall – amplifying the sculpture’s expressive contours into a timeless study of light, form, and silhouette.
Antonin Mercié’s masterful Gloria Victis (“Glory to the Vanquished”) stands as a powerful tribute to resilience in defeat. Created after the Franco-Prussian War, it subverts traditional heroic imagery by depicting a winged allegory of Fame lifting a dying soldier, who holds his broken sword high in defiance. The dynamic, upward-sweeping composition captures a brilliant interplay of vulnerability and strength, immortalizing the courage of the fallen and proving that true glory is never lost.
There is something fitting about encountering this face through two layers of separation – the veil the sculptor carved, and the museum case that now holds her. This is Fantasy Bust of a Veiled Woman (c.1865–1870), a glazed terracotta by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, believed by some to be a portrait of Marguerite Bellanger – actress, courtesan, and one of the most talked-about women in Second Empire Paris. She looks downward, away from us, as if the gaze of the viewer is precisely what she is not interested in returning.
Monochromia 
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