Design for the painted decoration of a ceiling

Art Historical Context

This exquisite preparatory drawing, titled *Design for the Painted Decoration a Ceiling*, was created by French artists Jules-Ed-Charles Lachaise Eugène-Pierre Gourdet the mid- to late 19th centuryca. 1830–97). Rendered in pen and white ink, watercolor, shimmering gold paint on wove—then mounted on blue wove for dramatic presentation—it measures 13 9/16 x 19 1/2 inches overall. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of Drawings and Prints (acquired via the Dodge Fund in 1967), this work exemplifies the meticulous planning behind opulent interior designs of the era. In the 19th century, as France's Second Empire and Belle Époque flourished, architects and decorators like Lachaise and Gourdet crafted elaborate ceiling schemes for palaces, theaters, and grand homes. The use of gold paint evokes the lavish trompe-l'œil frescoes and illusionistic skies popular in neoclassical and eclectic styles, where ceilings became canvases for mythical scenes or architectural fantasies. White ink highlights added luminous depth, simulating the play of light on vaulted surfaces. Though unrealized (or at least surviving only as this design), it offers a window into the collaborative artistry of decorative draftsmen, blending technical precision with imaginative grandeur. Visitors can appreciate how such sketches bridged the gap between blueprint and breathtaking reality, transforming everyday spaces into celestial spectacles.

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...