Description
"Courtyard of the Artist's Studio" was not a study for a large-scale painting; rather, it was conceived of as a work of art in its own right and was, in fact, published in a folio of images of similar subjects in 1881. Nonetheless, this beautiful watercolor clearly communicates the reasons for Meissionier's renown during his lifetime, particularly his painstaking attention to historically accurate costumes and settings, which characterizes such paintings as "The Jovial Topper" (1865) and "The End of the Game of Cards" (1865), both in the collection of the Walters Art Museum (37.151 and 37.149).

Courtyard of the Artist's Studio
Conservation
Date | Description | Narrative |
---|---|---|
4/18/1979 | Examination | examined for exhibition |
3/01/1982 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
11/13/1991 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
9/29/1992 | Loan Consideration | {\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Arial;}}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\fs20 examined for loan\par} |
1/01/2002 | Treatment | examined for exhibition; other |
Exhibitions
- French Masterworks on Paper. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1992.
- A Supple Brush: The Flowering of Continental Watercolors. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1979.
- A Connoisseur's Portfolio: Nineteenth-century Drawings and Watercolors in the Walters Art Gallery. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1983.
- French Master Drawings. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1997-1998.
- A Discerning Eye: Nineteenth-century Drawings and Watercolors. Academy Art Museum, Easton. 1998-1999.
- Botanical Delights: Floral Motifs in 19th-Century Art. Government House, Annapolis; Strathmore Hall Art Center, North Bethesda; Academy Art Museum, Easton. 1998-1999.
- 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. 2005-2006.
Provenance
William T. Walters, Baltimore, before 1884 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Inscriptions
"JF Meissonier / 1877" in brown watercolor in lower left
Credit
Acquired by William T. Walters, before 1884
Creator
Period
1877Medium
watercolor over graphite underdrawing heightened with white gouache on cream, moderately thick, smooth wove paper(Painting & Drawing)
Accession Number
37.947Measurements
H: 13 9/16 x W: 7 1/2 in. (34.5 x 19 cm)Geographies
- France (Place of Origin)