Théodore Chassériau - Emilia, Study For The Romance Of Willow - 1844 - (shakespeare)
Artist: Théodore Chasseriau (1819-1856)
Théodore CHASSERIAU (1819-1856)
Emilia, study for La Romance de Saule 1844
Ink and ink wash on paper
17 x 13 cm.
Studio stamp (L.443) lower left
Provenance:
- Christie's sale, Paris, November 27, 2002, lot 284
- Piasa sale, March 22, 2006, lot 203
Exceptionally precocious, Chassériau joined Ingres's studio at the Beaux-Arts at the age of 11. At 15, he executed the portrait of Marilhat exhibited at the Louvre; and remains the youngest artist exhibited at the Musée National. Due to lack of means, Chassériau was unable to follow Ingres to the Villa Medici and continued his career in Paris.
When Chassériau, faithful to his romantic destiny, died prematurely, his friend Théophile Gautier wrote his funeral oration in the columns of the Artist: "Chassériau died at 37, like Raphael, in the fullness of life and talent... He knew and could. Starting with Ingres, having passed through Delacroix as if to color his pure drawing, he had long been a master himself." This is indeed what the History of Art remembers of Chassériau: a synthesis between the sophisticated purity of Ingres' drawing and the colorful passion of Delacroix, the manifestation of an immense and original talent, one of the greatest names of Romanticism.
Our drawing relates to one of the engravings illustrating Othello. From the 1830s, Shakespeare reigned over imaginations. Eugène Piot commissioned sixteen engravings from Othello from Chassériau in 1844. Sixteen etchings that respond to the thirteen lithographs by Delacroix published a year earlier to illustrate Hamlet. Our sheet prepares the 9th image of this cycle: The Romance of Willow (fig. 1).
More precisely, the figure of Emilia. Servant of Desdemona, she is the wife of the traitor Iago and dies under the stabbing of her husband for having discovered his plot. A tragic character, guardian of secrets and mysteries, she embodies devotion and fidelity. In a few energetic strokes, Chassériau was able to give all her dramatic character to this half-veiled figure. Most of the preparatory drawings for the engravings of Othello have been part of the Louvre's collections since the bequest of Baron Arthur Chassériau in 1932.
Emilia, study for La Romance de Saule 1844
Ink and ink wash on paper
17 x 13 cm.
Studio stamp (L.443) lower left
Provenance:
- Christie's sale, Paris, November 27, 2002, lot 284
- Piasa sale, March 22, 2006, lot 203
Exceptionally precocious, Chassériau joined Ingres's studio at the Beaux-Arts at the age of 11. At 15, he executed the portrait of Marilhat exhibited at the Louvre; and remains the youngest artist exhibited at the Musée National. Due to lack of means, Chassériau was unable to follow Ingres to the Villa Medici and continued his career in Paris.
When Chassériau, faithful to his romantic destiny, died prematurely, his friend Théophile Gautier wrote his funeral oration in the columns of the Artist: "Chassériau died at 37, like Raphael, in the fullness of life and talent... He knew and could. Starting with Ingres, having passed through Delacroix as if to color his pure drawing, he had long been a master himself." This is indeed what the History of Art remembers of Chassériau: a synthesis between the sophisticated purity of Ingres' drawing and the colorful passion of Delacroix, the manifestation of an immense and original talent, one of the greatest names of Romanticism.
Our drawing relates to one of the engravings illustrating Othello. From the 1830s, Shakespeare reigned over imaginations. Eugène Piot commissioned sixteen engravings from Othello from Chassériau in 1844. Sixteen etchings that respond to the thirteen lithographs by Delacroix published a year earlier to illustrate Hamlet. Our sheet prepares the 9th image of this cycle: The Romance of Willow (fig. 1).
More precisely, the figure of Emilia. Servant of Desdemona, she is the wife of the traitor Iago and dies under the stabbing of her husband for having discovered his plot. A tragic character, guardian of secrets and mysteries, she embodies devotion and fidelity. In a few energetic strokes, Chassériau was able to give all her dramatic character to this half-veiled figure. Most of the preparatory drawings for the engravings of Othello have been part of the Louvre's collections since the bequest of Baron Arthur Chassériau in 1932.
3 000 €
Period: 19th century
Style: Louis Philippe, Charles 10th
Condition: Excellent condition
Material: Paper
Width: 12 cm.
Height: 17 cm.
Reference (ID): 1618185
Availability: In stock
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