Painted Wall Decor Featuring Three Medallions

Art Historical Context

This delicate drawing, *ed Wall Decor Featuring Three Medallions*, created the 19th century by artists Jules-Edmond-Charles Lise and Eugène-Pierre Gourdet, a glimpse into the op world of interior design during France's decorative arts renaissance. Rendered pen and black ink withache—an opaque watercolor technique adds vibrant color and luminosity—the work measures a modest 9 5/ x 11 716 inches, making it a precise preparatory study intended for grand architectural panels salons. The composition centers on three elegant medall, circular motifs evoking portraiture or allegorical figures, framed within an ornate painted surround. Such designs were hallmarks of 19th-century ornamentalism, blending neoclassical symmetry with emerging historicist tastes, as artists like Lachaise and Gourdet catered to affluent patrons commissioning lavish home décors. The meticulous ink lines provide sharp definition, while gouache heightens the decorative appeal, simulating the final painted effect on walls. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department as part of The Elisha Whittelsey Collection (quired via The Elisha Whittelsey Fund in 1968), this piece highlights the artistry behind everyday luxury, inviting us to appreciate the skilled draftsmen who shaped Europe's gilded interiors.

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...