Design for an ornamental plaque for a bath house

Art Historical Context

This delicate design for an ornamental plaque, created by Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise and Eugène-Pierre Gourdet, offers a window into the decorative ambitions of 19th-century public architecture. Intended for a bath house—a vital urban amenity during an when hygiene and social gathering spaces were expanding—the drawing reflects the period’s blend of utility and elegance. Such plaques would have adorned interiors or facades, elevating functional buildings into refined environments. Executed in graphite, wash, and watercolor on wove paper, the work demonstrates the artists’ mastery of precise line work and subtle tonal effects, techniques well suited to architectural proposals. The compact image area, mounted on a larger sheet, suggests a preparatory study meant for review or presentation. Active from 1830 to 1897, Lachaise and Gourdet contributed to the collaborative design culture of their time, where draftsmen translated ornamental ideas into lasting public features. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art through the Dodge Fund in 1967, this drawing preserves the thoughtful planning behind decorative details that once enriched everyday civic 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...