The Meeting of Orestes and Hermione, c. 1800. Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy-Trioson (French, 1767-1824). Pen and brown and black ink, point of brush and brown and gray wash, with black chalk and graphite, heightened with white gouache on cream wove paper; sheet: 28.5 x 21.8 cm (11 1/4 x 8 9/16 in.); image: 26.2 x 20 cm (10 5/16 x 7 7/8 in.). When the French painter Jacques-Louis David was approached to work on a new edition of Jean Racines plays, he passed the task to his pupil Girodet, who excelled at illustrating literature. This highly refined drawing depicts a scene from Racines Andromaque, a complicated story of unrequited love and political treachery. Cléone introduces the love-blind Orestes to Hermione, who exploits his affection to make him do her bidding. Girodet skillfully contrasts Orestess eagerness and Hermiones calculating character. With folded arms, she turns away, as if a statue between the columns of a cool marble interior. Yet Hermiones sly, backward glance alert