A Celebration
1874
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 63.5 × 53.34 cm (25 × 21 in.) framed: 83.82 × 49.53 × 12.7 cm (33 × 19 1/2 × 5 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CF
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase)
Accession Number
2015.19.121
Art Historical Context
Eugène Isabey (1803–1886), a leading French painter of the Romantic era, specialized in maritime scenes, landscapes, and vibrant genre paintings that captured the drama of the sea and human activity along the coast. *A Celebration*, painted in 1874 near the end of his career is an oil-on-canvas work measuring 25 × 21 inches. This medium was ideal for Isabey's style, enabling luminous colors, textured brushstrokes, and a sense movement that brought his subjects to life. Created during France's Third Republic, following the turmoil of the Franco-Prussian War, the painting's title evokes themes ...
About the Artist
Eugène Isabey
Eugène Isabey (1803–1886) was a French painter and lithographer known for his dramatic seascapes, coastal scenes, and historical compositions. Born in Paris, he was the son of the celebrated miniaturist and portraitist Jean-Baptiste Isabey, who provided his early artistic training. The younger Isabey studied briefly with various masters but was largely shaped by his father's studio and by his own ...