Two putti seated on clouds
second half 19th century
Medium
Oil paint over graphite
Dimensions
image: 5 11/16 x 5 13/16 in. (14.4 x 14.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Dodge Fund, 1967
Accession Number
67.827.513
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, *Two Putti Seated on Clouds* (second half of the 19th century) captures a whimsical moment crafted by French artists Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise and Eugène-Pierre Gourdet. This intimate work, measuring just 5 11/16 x 5 13/16 inches, depicts a pair of plump, playful putti—those cherubic child figures rooted in Renaissance and Baroque traditions—lounging atop fluffy clouds. Acquired through the Dodge Fund in 1967, it exemplifies the enduring appeal of these joyful motifs in 19th-century European art. Rendered in oil paint ove...
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...