Portrait of a Kleptomaniac - Théodore Géricault (1822)

Part of a series of 10 portraits, a commissioned series for the psychiatrist Étienne-Jean Georget. The Salpêtrière asylum in Paris was like other institutions at the time, nowhere near the level of insight and care provided by modern mental health services. A history of mental illness in the artist’s own family likely made this an intimate project for him, reflected in the realism and empathy in the paintings. Instead of focusing on the chaos of their surroundings we can imagine these patients as individuals, not with a name but a past and personal tragedy.

All 10 are located in the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium.