Design for a paneled ceiling with painted decoration
Medium
pen and ink, watercolor and gouache
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Dodge Fund, 1967
Accession Number
67.827.399
Art Historical Context
This 19th-century design for a paneled ceiling with painted decoration showcases the collaborative talents of Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise and Eugène-Pierre Gourdet. Created as a preparatory drawing, it captures the vision for an elaborate interior scheme, likely intended for a grand public or private space where ornate ceilings served as statements of elegance and craftsmanship during an era of revivalist tastes. Executed in pen and ink with watercolor and gouache, the work highlights the artists’ skill in blending precise line work with luminous color to simulate the effect of painted pane...
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...