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Hope
(18th and 19th Centuries )
In the wake of the catastrophic Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the artist painted this picture of a young woman seated in a devastated landscape holding an oak twig as a symbol of hope for the nation's recovery from war and deprivation. This painting was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1872. A smaller variant, showing the subject nude, is at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
Puvis de Chavannes was one of the most original artists of his generation. His utopian visions, in which the figures seem to float in a dream-like landscape, served as a point of departure for many younger artists, such as Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) and Henri Matisse (1869-1954).
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Durand-Ruel, Paris, prior to 1872 Salon, by purchase [from the artist]; Patou, Paris [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Durand-Ruel [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Erwin Davis, New York, 1890, by purchase; E. F. Miliken Sale, New York, February 14, 1902, no. 25; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2010-2011 | 19th Century Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Austin. |
| 2002-2004 | A Magnificent Age: Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte. |
| 2000-2002 | Triumph of French Painting: Masterpieces from Ingres to Matisse. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach; Dayton Art Institute, Dayton; Royal Academy of Arts, London; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo. |
| 2002 | Verso l'arte moderna: da Puvis de Chavannes a Matisse e Picasso. Palazzo Grassi, Venice. |
| 1999-2000 | Vive la France! French Treasures from the Middle Ages to Monet. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1998 | Manet, Monet, and the Gare Saint-Lazare. National Gallery of Art, Washington. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 11/3/1966 | Treatment | loss compensation; coated |
| 6/1/1971 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 5/1/1974 | Treatment | loss compensation; coated; other |
| 12/11/1975 | Treatment | repaired; loss compensation |
| 1/13/1997 | Treatment | other |
| 6/4/2003 | Treatment | repaired |
| 5/9/2008 | Examination | examined for loan |
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 40 3/8 x W: 51 in. (102.5 x 129.5 cm); Framed H: 53 1/4 x W: 63 1/2 x D: 5 1/4 in. (135.3 x 161.3 x 13.3 cm); Framed H in travel frame with build-up: 51 1/4 x W: 61 7/8 x D: 4 in. (130.18 x 157.16 x 10.2 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1902
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.
37.156
