Study for "The Tulip Folly"

This drawing is related to a painting showing an incident during the "tulipomania" in Holland in the 1630s, when speculators drove the price of tulips to unprecedented heights, only to have the market suddenly collapse. To control the supply, the government ordered the destruction of the tulip beds. Here, a Dutch aristocrat defends his prize tulip from the government soldiers. The painting, "The Tulip Folly" (1882, Walters 37.2612), has been in the Walters since 1983.

Gérôme frequently sold drawings that either replicated his most famous works or were variations on them. In this instance, the drawing has been squared to transfer the design, confirming that it is a preliminary study rather than a replica.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Aimé Morot [the artist's son-in-law], Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [the drawing was once part of a notebook in his possession, later dismembered]; Dr. Edward T. Wilson, Bethesda, Maryland [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 2008, by gift.