The Form of a Romantic Uzès holds the memory of a boy born to a poor rural schoolmaster in 1787. Xavier Sigalon moves toward Paris with difficulty, eventually finding his way into the studio of Pierre-Narcisse Guérin. The formal instruction provided there fails to satisfy him. Instead, he turns to the galleries of the Louvre, teaching himself by studying the Italian masters. This self-directed path shapes a painter who prioritizes the treatment of form over the use of color. The year 1822 marks a sudden shift in his trajectory. He exhibits The Young Courtesan, a work that immediately attrac…