Funerary Portrait of Jacques Damala

Sarah Bernhardt French

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 556

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.

Funerary Portrait of Jacques Damala, Sarah Bernhardt (French, Paris 1844–1923 Paris), Marble, French, Paris

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Funerary Portrait of Jacques Damala, Sarah Bernhardt (French, Paris 1844–1923 Paris), Marble, French, Paris
Funerary Portrait of Jacques Damala, Sarah Bernhardt (French, Paris 1844–1923 Paris), Marble, French, Paris
Funerary Portrait of Jacques Damala, Sarah Bernhardt (French, Paris 1844–1923 Paris), Marble, French, Paris
Funerary Portrait of Jacques Damala, Sarah Bernhardt (French, Paris 1844–1923 Paris), Marble, French, Paris

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