Design for a ceiling with garland bearing putti

Art Historical Context

This delicate *Design for a Ceiling with Garland Bearing Putti* by French artists Jules-Edmond- Lachaise and Eug-Pierre Gourdet dates to the second half of the 19th century, a period when opulent interior decoration flourished in Europe, particularly under the lavish Second Empire style in France. Crafted graphite, gouache, watercolor on paper (measuring 14 13/16 x 10 11/16 inches), this preparatory drawing showcases swirling garlands—classic motifs symbolizing abundance and festivity—carried aloft by frolicsome putti, those cherubic figures rooted in Renaissance and Baroque traditions. The mixed-media technique highlights the artists' mastery: graphite for precise outlines, watercolor for subtle washes, and gouache for vivid, opaque highlights that evoke the grandeur of a finished ceiling fresco or stucco. Such designs were essential blueprints for architects and decorators creating sumptuous palaces, theaters, or bourgeois salons, blending neoclassical elegance with playful exuberance. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (acquired via the Dodge Fund in 1967), this work offers a glimpse into the collaborative artistry behind 19th-century ornamental splendor, reminding us how sketches like this brought heavenly whimsy to earthly spaces.

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...