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The work of Pigalle reflects the aesthetic transition from Rococo to Neo-classicism. His work embodies the contrast between an almost radical naturalism in translating anatomical details on the one hand and the polished, classically derived forms and clear straight lines of the Louis XVI style on the other. In his work Pigalle sought to represent the individual with idealization and in all his intimate humanity. This is how the deceased Henri-Claude d'Harcourt is presented on his tomb in Notre-Dame in Paris.
The gaunt corps endeavours one last time to rise from the coffin, but shrouded Death holds up the hourglass which has run out, and the torch held by the dead man's guardian spirit standing at his feet has gone out. Even the widow who stands beside her husband's discarded military equipment no longer looks at the deceased but laments herself in prayerful entreaty.
Although features of the Baroque memento mori, the reminder of human mortality, are suggested here, this composition is essentially very untypical for a Baroque tomb.
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