The chair, brazier, table, and the setting all show vien's interest in bringing archaeological accuracy to a new level of precision. Yet his delicate handling and graceful palette derive squarely from 18th-century french painting. The gesture of the melancholic figure, with her head on her hand, has roots going back to the renaissance. Nonetheless, the painting has a wistful rather than tragic tone. Indeed, images of women in interiors, contemplating a letter with longing or sadness, derive from earlier dutch paintings of daily life, here transformed into an ancient context. Object Type: painting. Genre: allegory. Date: 1756. Place of creation: France, 18th century. Dimensions: Framed: 86.4 x 76.2 x 6.5 cm (34 x 30 x 2 9/16 in.); Unframed: 68 x 55 cm (26 3/4 x 21 5/8 in.). Medium: oil on canvas. Collection: Cleveland Museum of Art. Joseph-Marie Vien - Sweet Melancholy - 1996.1 - Cleveland Museum of Art
Loading...
