Daphnis and Chloë
Artist
Jehan-George Vibert
(French, 1840-1902)
CultureFrench
Date1866
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 53 3/4 x 86 1/4 in. (136.5 x 219.1 cm)
Overall, Frame: 55 3/4 x 88 1/4 in. (141.6 x 224.2 cm)
Overall, Frame: 55 3/4 x 88 1/4 in. (141.6 x 224.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.716
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 216
Label TextJehan-Georges Vibert French, 1840–1902 Daphnis and Chloë, 1866 Oil on canvas According to ancient Greek myth, Daphnis and Chloë were brought together as children and raised by a shepherd and his wife. After spending a carefree childhood watching over their adoptive parents’ flock, they fell in love and married. Jehan-Georges Vibert depicts the enchanted moment when childhood gives way to the first stirrings of erotic love, as Daphnis teaches Chloë to play the shepherd’s flute. The event unfolds in an idyllic forest glade carpeted with grass and flowers—an earthly paradise where budding love is enveloped in gentleness and innocence. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.716 Exhibition History"The Controversial Century, 1850-1950, Paintings from the Collection of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.," Provincetown, MA, June 16 - Sept. 3, 1962; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, September 28 - November 4, 1962. (Exh. cat. not paged). "Behind the Seen: The Chrysler's Hidden Museum," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 21, 2005 - February 19, 2006. Published ReferencesCharles F. Comfort and William S.A. Dale, _The Controversial Century: 1850-1950_, exh. cat., Chrysler Art Museum of Provincetown, Provincetown, Mass., 1962, not paged. *Title in publication is Arcadian Shepherd and Shepherdess Eric M. Zafran, "Norfolk's Salon Masterworks Shine Again," _Fine Art Connoisseur_, November-December 2014, 48.
