id: 166636 accession number: 2008.357 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2008.357 updated: 2024-03-26 02:01:12.111000 The Oak Tree and the Reed, c. 1873. Charles François Daubigny (French, 1817–1878). Blue, gray, and black wash, and graphite; sheet: 29.3 x 23 cm (11 9/16 x 9 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2008.357 title: The Oak Tree and the Reed title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1873 creation date earliest: 1868 creation date latest: 1878 current location: creditline: Bequest of Muriel Butkin copyright: --- culture: France, 19th century technique: blue, gray, and black wash, and graphite department: Drawings collection: Drawings type: Drawing find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Charles François Daubigny (French, 1817–1878) - artist The son of a painter, Charles François Daubigny received his initial training from his father, Edmond François Daubigny (1789-1843), a student of Bertin (q.v.). Daubigny's uncle, Pierre, and his uncle's wife were also painters. In order to finance a trip to Italy, Daubigny began painting decorative panels for the Musée de Versailles. By 1835 he had earned enough money for the excursion and, accompanied by Henri Mignon, traveled through Rome, Florence, Pisa, and Genoa, studying the Italian country-side. Upon his return to Paris in 1836 Daubigny began working for Granet (q.v.) in the paintings restoration depart-ment of the Louvre. He made his Salon debut two years later and would regularly show there until 1868. During this time he also learned etching, and it became a good source of income while still allowing him time to paint. Daubigny began to travel often, to Normandy in 1842, to the forest of Fontainebleau and on to Burgundy in 1843. He became friends with Corot (q.v.), and the two artists painted together in Switzerland and the Dauphiné. In 1857 Daubigny bought a boat that he converted into a studio and used to explore the Oise, Marne, and Seine rivers. The boat allowed him freedom to choose the best viewpoints for his landscapes, an idea that Monet (q.v.) would adopt years later. Daubigny achieved some financial success, received the Legion of Honor in 1859, and a year later built a home and studio in Auvers. In 1861, however, he was criticized because his works were becoming darker and sketchier. He was, in fact, one of the earliest artists to become interested in capturing the changing quality of nature by using light, rapid brush strokes. While experimenting with painting, Daubigny continued his interest in printmaking. In 1862 he participated in an exhibit funded by Cadart, a print publisher and dealer. The exhibition concerned artists who considered printmaking a legitimate art in itself, not a medium for simple reproduction. Cadart became Daubigny's exclusive publisher. Along with Corot, Daubigny also experimented with the cliché verre technique. He continued to travel, in Brittany in 1867 and Spain in 1868-69. He was also supportive of other artists. As a member of the Salon jury of 1868, he was instrumental in having the works of Degas (q.v.), Morisot (q.v.), Pissarro (q.v.), Renoir (q.v.), Sisley (q.v.), Monet, and Frédéric Bazille (1841-1870) accepted. Daubigny moved to London in 1870 to escape the Franco-Prussian War. There he introduced Pissarro and Monet to Paul Durand-Ruel, his art dealer, who had opened a gallery in London. Daubigny returned to Paris after the war, traveling around the French countryside until the end of his life. --- measurements: Sheet: 29.3 x 23 cm (11 9/16 x 9 1/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: description: cream wove paper watermarks: inscriptions: inscription: signed, lower right, in brown ink: à mon ami Giacomelli / C Daubigny translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin opening date: 2001-08-26T00:00:00 French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001); Dahesh Museum of Art (February 19-May 18, 2002). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * {'description': 'Non-Dissenters: Fifth Exhibition Marking Our Tenth Anniversary. Shepherd Gallery, New York (1976).', 'opening_date': '1976-01-01T00:00:00'} --- PROVENANCE Hector Giacomelli [1822-1904, L. 1311], Versailles date: Probably c. 1873-1904 footnotes: *
Stamped at lower left, in red ink.
citations: (Hotel Drouot, H. Giacomelli collection sale, Paris, April 13-15, 1905, no. 71, sold to Giacomelli) date: 1905 footnotes: *
An annotated copy of the Giacomelli catalogue in the Bibliothèque d'Art et d'Archéologie, Jacques Doucet, Paris, lists this lot as sold for "105" francs to "Giacomelli," likely a relative of Hector Giacomelli.
citations: Giacomelli date: 1905-? footnotes: * citations: François Gosselin, Paris, sold to Shepherd Gallery, New York date: ?-1976 footnotes: citations: (Shepherd Gallery, New York, sold to Muriel Butkin, Shaker Heights, OH) date: 1976 footnotes: citations: Muriel Butkin [1916-2008], Cleveland, OH, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Shaker Heights, OH date: 1976-2008 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 2008- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Hotel Drouot, Paris. Tableaux, dessins et aquarelles...la Collection de feu H. Giacomelli, Artiste-Peintre. April 13-15, 1905. Lot 71. page number: Mentioned: p. 17 url: Shepherd Gallery. Non-Dissenters; One Hundred and Seventy French Nineteenth Century Drawings, Pastels and Watercolors. November 1, through December 31, 1976. Exh. Cat. New York: Shepherd Gallery, 1976. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 49 url: Foster, Carter E., Sylvain Bellenger, and Patrick Shaw Cable. French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. page number: Mentioned: cat. no. 49, p. 108-109; Reproduced: p. 109 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2008.357/2008.357_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2008.357/2008.357_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2008.357/2008.357_full.tif