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The Dead Bird
(18th and 19th Centuries )
This sentimental piece, formerly attributed to Etienne Maurice Falconet (1716-1791), depicts the nude figure of a young girl seated with a dead bird on her right knee and her hands clasped to the left in a gesture of sorrow. This subject in art is associated with lost innocence.The piece is sculpted in the round, and is on a marble base.
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.
Octave Homberg, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Octave Homberg Sale, Paris, May 16, 1906, no. 724; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1906, by purchase [through Jacques Seligmann]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 2/19/1959 | Treatment | cleaned |
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1906
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.
27.388