Sergel: Study for the Head of Diomedes Magnet

Though little known beyond his native Sweden, sculptor and draftsman Johan Tobias Sergel (1740–1814) was one of the most compelling artistic figures of the late eighteenth century. 

Trained initially in Stockholm, Sergel spent time in Paris and, more importantly, over a decade in Rome, where his associates included a dazzling international circle of artists and patrons. Sergel’s sculpture was an important model for a generation of Neoclassical artists, but the artist’s personality is most evident in the drawings that constitute a virtual diary of his life, often in caricature. His late drawings, made when Sergel was in poor health and in a state of depression, have been compared to those of Francisco Goya. Although his career spanned artistic movements from Rococo to Neoclassicism to Romanticism, Sergel also seems at times a modern figure, one whose life can offer a rich story to contemporary audiences.

This magnet was produced to accompany the exhibition Fantasy and Reality: The Art of Johan Tobias Sergel on view at the Morgan Library & Museum October 30, 2026 through January 31, 2027.