Provenance
Colnaghi, London; ? Benezit (1966 ed., Vol. 3, p. 236): 4th Sale Baron de Bethmann, June 21-22, 1923, "Murique de Chambre" (aquarelle); Colnaghi, London, "French Drawings: Post Neo-Classicism," Spring Exhibition 1976 (cat. no. 63).
Accession Number
2009.301
Medium
watercolor with black and brown ink, some pastel and lead white on off-white heavy-weight wove paper mounted to heavy white cream wove paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 23.2 x 18.5 cm (9 1/8 x 7 5/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Bequest of Muriel Butkin
Tags
Drawing Neoclassical & Romantic (1751–1850) Watercolor Ink Pastel Paper French
Background & Context
Background Story
Eugene Francois Marie Joseph Deveria (1805-1865) was a French painter known for the elegantly composed, precisely observed paintings and drawings that make him one of the most accomplished painters of the French Romantic tradition. A Concert: Laura Deveria Singing from 1831 depicts a concert with Laura Deveria singing in the elegantly composed, precisely observed manner that distinguishes Deveria's best work from the more general painting of his contemporaries. Deveria was known for his elegantly composed, precisely observed depictions of musical and literary subjects that combine the Romantic tradition with a precisely observed treatment of the figures, and the 1831 drawing shows the French Romantic tradition at its most accomplished.
Cultural Impact
A Concert: Laura Deveria Singing is important in the history of French Romantic painting because it demonstrates the elegantly composed, precisely observed manner that Deveria brought to musical subjects as one of the most accomplished painters of the French Romantic tradition. Deveria's elegantly composed, precisely observed depictions of musical and literary subjects—combining the Romantic tradition with a precisely observed treatment of the figures—represent one of the most accomplished traditions in French Romantic painting, and the 1831 drawing shows this tradition at its most elegantly composed.
Why It Matters
A Concert: Laura Deveria Singing is Deveria's elegantly composed French Romantic drawing: a musical concert rendered in the precisely observed manner of one of the most accomplished painters of the French Romantic tradition. The 1831 drawing shows the French Romantic tradition at its most elegantly composed.
