Partial design for ceiling decorated in chinese motifs
Medium
pen and ink, wash, watercolor, and gouache on wove paper; mounted on blue wove paper
Dimensions
Overall: 9 7/8 x 8 in. (25.1 x 20.3 cm) image: 5 1/2 x 3 13/16 in. (13.9 x 9.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Dodge Fund, 1967
Accession Number
67.827.303
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate drawing, titled *Partial Design for Ceiling Decorated in Motifs*, was created by French artists Jules-EdmondCharles Lachaise andène-Pierre Gourdet, in the mid-to-late 19th (ca. 1830–97). It represents a preparatory sketch for an ornate ceiling, showcasing the enduring European fascination with chinoiserie—stylized interpretations of Chinese decorative arts. Popular since the Rococo era, this motif blended exotic Eastern elements like pagodas, foliage, and latticework with Western elegance, often adorning grand interiors of the bourgeoisie and aristocracy. Executed on wove paper ...
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...