Description
This drawing is a rare study relating to Ernest Meissonier's never-realized mural for the Pantheon in Paris. After seeking and receiving the commission in 1874, Meisonnier procrastinated on the project for many years. Here, the French heroine Joan of Arc appears at center, without a helmet, on a bare white horse, staring ahead with steadfast calm. The figure of Joan in this drawing appears to correspond to the subject in a now-lost design for the complete painting, which Meissonier presented in 1889.
Provenance
Estate of the artist (1891-1893); (his studio sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, May 18-20, 1893, no. 464) (1893); Alfred Hartmann, Mulhouse (after 1893-1899); (his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, April 12-15, 1899, no. 92) (1899); (sale, Sotheby-Parke-Bernet, New York, October 3, 1975, no. 169, sold to Muriel Butkin, Shaker Heights, OH) (1975); Muriel Butkin [1916-2008], Shaker Heights, OH, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1975-2008); Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2008-)
Accession Number
2008.358
Medium
graphite, red chalk, colored washes, and black and white gouache
Dimensions
Sheet: 18.8 x 30.3 cm (7 3/8 x 11 15/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Bequest of Muriel Butkin