Nereid Bringing the Helmet of Achilles
by DAVID d'Angers, Plaster bas-relief, 107 x 183 cm
The Nereid reflects both the French influences, from Jean Goujon to Girodet, which had marked David’s schooling, and his admiration for Canova. The deliberate opposition between the Nereid’s smooth body, all in unnatural curves and torsions, and her pleated drapery suggestive of gushing water, gave rise to a mannerism further emphasized by the linearity of the relief.