Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Head of an Old Man
(18th and 19th Centuries )
In addition to the charming illustrations of masquerades and balls and the prints and watercolors depicting the working classes and poor that were so popular among collectors, Gavarni was also capable of producing sensitive and poignant observations of the human condition in pen and ink. Reminiscent of Géricault's series of paintings of mental patients made for the psychologist Georget, Gavarni here captures the resignation of an old man in his decline. The broad shoulders, now stooped, and the wild hair grown white with age hint at a former vitality and energy that has long since slipped away.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
William T. Walters, Baltimore, 1865, by purchase [George A. Lucas as agent]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2005-2006 | The Essence of Line: French Drawings from Ingres to Degas. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham; Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma. |
| 1992 | French Masterworks on Paper. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1953-1954 | Watercolors and Drawings by Gavarni. National Gallery of Art, Washington. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 2/18/1983 | Examination | examined for exhibition |
| 1/1/2002 | Treatment | examined for exhibition; re-housed; other |
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 6 5/8 x W: 5 3/16 in. (16.8 x 13.1 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. Walters, 1865
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.1441