Design for Ceiling Decorated with Lavender Arabesques
19th century
Medium
Watercolor and traces of graphite
Dimensions
11 3/4 x 16 3/4in. (29.8 x 42.5cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1969
Accession Number
69.660.14
Art Historical Context
**Design for Ceiling Decorated with Lavender Arabesques** Charles Monblond (th century) is a preparatory drawing in watercolor with traces of graphite, measuring 11 3/4 x 16 3/4 inches. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this from The Elisha Whittelsey Collection exemplifies the intricate world of 19th-century design sketches. Monblond, a specialist in ornamental patterns, envisioned a ceiling adorned with flowing lavender arabesques—elegant, intertwined motifs inspired by foliage and scrolls that evoke lightness and luxury. Created during an era of opu...
About the Artist
Charles Monblond · 1800–1900
**Charles Monblond**, a French painter and designer born in Paris, flourished during the mid- to late nineteenth century, capturing the ornate spirit of Second Empire decorative arts through his meticulous drawings and paintings. Residing at 9 Rue Marignan, he studied under M. Ch. Polisch, honing skills that blended floral still lifes with architectural ornamentation. In 1866, Monblond sought perm...