Two Politicians
Artist
Thomas Couture
(French, 1815-1879)
Contact
W. M. Brady & Co., Inc.
CultureFrench
Dateca. 1857
MediumPencil on paper | Chalk
DimensionsOverall: 16 3/4 x 21 5/8 in. (42.5 x 54.9 cm)
InscribedSigned left center: T.C.
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. by Exchange
Object number2002.21
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a pencil and chalk drawing on blue paper, toned to cream. It is a finished preparatory drawing for a painting titled _Pierrot the Politician_. It presents the interior of a room with two figures, a harlequin and Pierrot, looking at a newspaper as they face each other. The one on the left is in the dress of a Pierrot, billowy and white. Only his profile, with medium long hair, is visible to the viewer. The harlequin facing him is shown from the back of his head. The Harlequin reads a newspaper; the Pierrot holds a lit cigar in his right hand. The left side of the room is in shadows, but the Pierrot catches some of the light which spotlights the Harlequin and the wall behind them on the right side of the room. Behind the Harlequin is a black top hat on its side and an overcoat thrown over a chair. In the background is an arrangement of four bottles. There is also a pipe on the table with the bottles. In the foreground under the Harlequin is a crumpled bit of paper.Label TextThomas Couture French (1815-1879) Two Politicians, ca. 1857 Pencil, black and white chalk, on blue paper, toned to cream 16-3/4 x 21-5/8 inches Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. by Exchange Edited By: GLYProvenanceGraham Gallery, New York, 1975; sold to Shepherd Gallery, New York, October 1975; sold to Frederick Cummings, Detroit, MI, September 1976; sold to David M. Daniels, New York, December 1984; Daniels estate auction at Sotheby's, New York, October 29, 2002; Chrysler Museum of Art Purchase, 2002. Exhibition History"The Non-Dissenters," Shepherd Gallery, New York, Ny., November 1-December 31, 1976. (Exh. cat. no. 46). "Alumni Who Collect," David and Alfred Smart Gallery, University of Chicago, March 18 - May 16, 1982. (Exh. cat. no. 47). Published ReferencesThomas Couture and Bertauts-Couture, _Thomas Couture_ (Paris: 1932), 40. Shepherd Gallery, _Non-Dissenters: One Hundred and Seventy French Nineteenth Century Drawings, Pastels and Watercolors_ (New York: Shepherd Gallery, 1976), no. 45. Eric M. Zafran and Mario Amaya, _Veronese to Franz Kline: Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk_, exh. cat., Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., 1978, 24. Albert Boime, _Thomas Couture and the Eclectic Vision_ (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1980), 311-312, fig. IX.20. _Alumni who collect_, exh. cat., David and Alfred Smart Gallery, University of Chicago, Chicago, Il., 1982, no. 47.
1825-1875
18th century
