Portrait of a Kleptomaniac

"Portrait of a Kleptomaniac" alternatively known as "Portrait of an Insane Person" is a compelling 1822 oil painting by Théodore Géricault. This artwork is part of a remarkable series of ten portraits that Géricault created for psychiatrist Étienne-Jean Georget. The painting is currently housed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium.

These portraits depict inmates from the Salpêtrière asylum in Paris. Georget, a pioneer in social psychiatry, commissioned Géricault to illustrate various forms of mental illness through his art.

What sets Géricault's work apart is his empathetic approach to his subjects. Unlike earlier portrayals of the mentally ill, which often lacked compassion, Géricault sought to restore dignity to these marginalized individuals. In this particular painting, the kleptomaniac is depicted with a vacant gaze, a taut expression, an unkempt beard, and a dirty neck. The series is celebrated for its expressive realism, vividly capturing the psychological torment of its subjects.

Géricault's personal struggles with mental health and his family's history of insanity lend a profound emotional depth to his work. His paintings expertly fuse Romantic art with empirical science, providing a groundbreaking perspective on how madness can be represented in art.