Marphise
(18th and 19th Centuries )
In his epic poem "Orlando Furioso," Ludovico Ariosto relates how Marphise, the woman warrior, knocks the knight Pinabello off his horse after his lady had mocked Marphise's companion, the old woman Gabrina. In this scene, Pinabello lies on the ground, and his horse gallops off in the distance. The knight's lady, meanwhile, is forced to disrobe and give her fancy clothing to Gabrina. Marphise's horse, undisturbed by the drama, nonchalantly munches on the leaves overhead. Late in life, Delacroix frequently drew such subjects from 16th-century Italian literature, particularly from the works of Ludovico Ariosto and Torquato Tasso. In this late work, the artist has typically suppressed the delineation of the contours of the figures and relied on small strokes of unblended pigments to model their forms.
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.
Bonnet [date of acquisition unknown] by purchase; Bonnet Collection Sale, February 19, 1853, no. 9; Bulloz, 1853, by purchase; Anonymous Sale, Hotel Drouot, May 20, 1881; Collection Balay, ca. 1885 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Knoedler & Co., New York, 1904 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1904, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
2018-2019 | Delacroix (1798-1863). Musée du Louvre, Paris; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. |
2014-2016 | From Rye to Raphael: The Walters Story. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
2000 | Delacroix: The Music of Painting. Ordrupgaard, Charlottenlund. |
1998-1999 | Delacroix: les dernières années. Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia. |
1987-1988 | Eugène Delacroix. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid; Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich; Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main. |
1954 | Inaugural Exhibition at the Fort Worth Art Center. Fort Worth Art Center, Fort Worth. |
1951 | From Ingres to Gauguin: French Nineteenth Century Paintings Owned in Maryland. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Conservation
Date | Description | Narrative |
---|---|---|
12/17/1936 | Treatment | cleaned |
10/26/1951 | Treatment | loss compensation; coated; other |
5/29/1961 | Treatment | mounted; loss compensation; coated |
12/2/1963 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
6/18/1980 | Examination | examined for condition |
4/28/1987 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
4/21/1997 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
3/24/1998 | Examination | examined for condition |
4/20/2000 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
8/1/2003 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 32 5/16 x W: 39 3/4 in. (82 x 101 cm); Framed H: 46 × W: 54 × D: 6 in. (116.84 × 137.16 × 15.24 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1904
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.
37.10