Design for a ceiling
second half 19th century
Medium
Graphite and watercolor
Dimensions
Overall: 8 5/8 x 11 1/16 in. (21.9 x 28.1 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Dodge Fund, 1967
Accession Number
67.827.471
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate "Design for a Ceiling" by French architects Jules-EdmondCharles Lachaise andène-Pierre Gourdet dates to the second half of 19th century, a golden era for opulent interior decoration in Europe. Created as a preparatory drawing, it exemplifies the meticulous planning behind grand architectural projects, where ceilings often served as canvases for elaborate ornamentation inspired by Renaissance and Baroque revivals. At 8 5/8 x 11 1/16 inches, its intimate scale belies the ambitious visions it likely represented—perhaps for a Parisian hôtel particulier or public building. Rendered i...
About the Artist
Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise|Eugène-Pierre Gourdet · 1897–1897
Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise, born Jules Lachaise on September 2, 1836, in Paris, emerged as a prominent French painter and draughtsman specializing in lavish interior decorations during the Second Empire and beyond. Little is known about his early life and formal training, though he married Berthe Gourdet in 1866, forging a close professional partnership with her brother, the decorator Eugène-Pi...