Bernhardt, Sarah (1844-1923)
Portrait funéraire de Jacques Damala (Funerary Portrait of Jacques Damala)
c.1889
Marble, 27.9 x 46 x 31.1 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The great tragic actress, Sarah Bernhardt, was also a gifted sculptor. She carved this haunting memorial to her husband, the actor Jacques Damala (1855–1889), shortly after he had died of a drug overdose. Bernhardt envisions Damala as if on his deathbed, his youthful features captured in sleep. Yet the sheet covering him also is a winding shroud and the cut flowers wilt upon a marble slab that is reminiscent of a tomb. (MET)
See also:
• Damala, Jacques (1855-1889)