Description
In the spring of 1890 Berthe Morisot and her husband, Eugène Manet, rented a house with a garden overlooking the Seine River in the rural French town of Mézy. Morisot worked in the attic studio while the pair was there. A young boy from the village served as the model for this pastel, one of several studies for a full-length painting of Saint John the Baptist with his cross. In this drawing, Morisot developed the loose and sketchy marks that would characterize her final canvas.
Provenance
Mr. [1874–1942] and Mrs. [1878–1966] Ernest Rouart, Paris (after 1896); (Durand-Ruel, Paris) (1896); Private collection (1896-by 1929); Mr. [1880–1966] and Mrs. [1879–1980] Lewis B. Williams, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (by 1929-1975); Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1975-)
Accession Number
1975.83
Medium
pastel on pale blue laid paper
Dimensions
57.1 x 38.1 cm (22 1/2 x 15 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Lewis B. Williams