Design for Altar

Art Historical Context

This delicate watercolor, *Design for Altar*, created by French architects Jules-EdmondCharles Lachaise andène-Pierre Gourdet in second half of the th century, offers a glimpse into the meticulous planning behind ecclesiastical furnishings. Measuring 15 1/16 x 11 3/8 inches, it exemplifies the preparatory drawings used by 19th-century designers to propose ornate altars for churches, often centered on devotional figures like the Virgin Mary. works bridged architecture and fine art, ensuring harmony in sacred spaces during a era of Catholic revival in France. The use of watercolor as a medium was ideal for these designs, allowing artists to convey intricate details—ornamental motifs, structural elements, and subtle color gradients—with fluidity and precision on paper. Lachaise and Gourdet's collaboration highlights the teamwork common in large-scale religious projects, where architects visualized grandeur before committing to costly stone or wood. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (acquired via the Dodge Fund in 1967), this piece underscores the cultural reverence for Marian iconography in 19th-century Europe. It invites visitors to appreciate how such sketches shaped worship environments, blending piety with artistic innovation.

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...