id: 95285
accession number: 1916.1054
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1054
updated: 2024-03-26 01:56:11.472000
Figures in the Woods, c. 1857–1862. Adolphe Monticelli (French, 1824–1886). Oil on fabric; unframed: 46.2 x 37.5 cm (18 3/16 x 14 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade 1916.1054
title: Figures in the Woods
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: c. 1857–1862
creation date earliest: 1857
creation date latest: 1862
current location:
creditline: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade
copyright:
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culture: France, 19th century
technique: oil on fabric
department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
collection: Mod Euro - Painting 1800-1960
type: Painting
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
* Adolphe Monticelli (French, 1824–1886) - artist
From 1842 to 1846 Adolphe-Joseph-Thomas Monticelli studied painting at the École Municipale de Dessin in Marseilles, then directed by Émile Loubon (1809-1863), who encouraged his students to paint directly from nature. Monticelli moved to Paris in 1846 and entered the École des Beaux-Arts under Delaroche (q.v.). He spent his free time in the Louvre copying works by such painters as Veronese (1528-1588), Rubens (1577-1640), Rembrandt (1606-1669), Watteau (1684-1721), Fragonard (1732-1806), and Delacroix (q.v.). In the following years he would divide his time between Marseilles and Paris. He traveled throughout Provence with Guigou (q.v.), and together they painted the surrounding landscapes and villages. In Paris in 1856 he met Diaz de la Peña (q.v.), who encouraged him to use bolder colors and a heavier texture. Under the influence of Diaz, he also began adding small figures in his landscapes. That same year Monticelli returned to Marseilles, where he would remain for seven years. He again made landscape studies while earning money with his portraits. When he moved back to Paris in 1863, he specialized in depicting the fashionable society in lush landscapes, recalling the works of Watteau. He enjoyed some popularity within these circles because of the revival of interest in the rococo style. He also encountered some impressionist painters. He returned to Marseilles when the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) broke out and remained there for the rest of his life, creating his most mature works. He painted with Cézanne (q.v.) in the areas around Aix and Marseilles. In his late landscapes he experimented with paint texture, using thick impasto on a bare canvas to create a dynamic surface. These experiments were to leave a strong impression on van Gogh (q.v.), who saw them at the Galerie Delarebeyrette in Paris in 1886, the year of Monticelli's death. Around that time, Monticelli already had several emulators copying his work, which explains the abundant production of fake Monticellis that have since invaded the art market.
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measurements: Unframed: 46.2 x 37.5 cm (18 3/16 x 14 3/4 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
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inscriptions:
inscription: Signed lower left: Monticelli
translation:
remark:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition
opening date: 1936-06-26T04:00:00
The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936).
title: The Silver Jubilee Exhibition
opening date: 1941-06-23T04:00:00
The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).
title: French Drawings and Watercolors from French Public and Private Collections
opening date: 1942-01-06T05:00:00
French Drawings and Watercolors from French Public and Private Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 6-February 15, 1942).
title: 19th and 20th Century French Art and Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Loans
opening date: 1943-06-22T04:00:00
19th and 20th Century French Art and Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Loans. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-September 1, 1943).
title: 35th Anniversary Exhibition
opening date: 1951-06-20T04:00:00
35th Anniversary Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-September 30, 1951).
title: The Venetian Tradition
opening date: 1956-11-08T05:00:00
The Venetian Tradition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 8, 1956-January 1, 1957).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* {'description': 'CMA. Catalogue of the Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition of the Cleveland Museum of Art (1936), no. 295.', 'opening_date': '1936-01-01T00:00:00'}
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PROVENANCE
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wall description:
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
"The Wade Collection." Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 4, no. 1 (January 1917): 1-4, 11-12, 15-16.
page number: Mentioned: P. 3
url: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25136060
Argencourt, Louise d', and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974.
page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 468-469, Vol. II, no. 162
url:
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1054/1916.1054_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1054/1916.1054_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1054/1916.1054_full.tif