Design for a ceiling
second half 19th century
Medium
Graphite, gilt, gouache, and watercolor
Dimensions
Overall: 8 13/16 x 10 9/16 in. (22.4 x 26.8 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Dodge Fund, 1967
Accession Number
67.827.464
Art Historical Context
"Design for a Ceiling," a collaborative preparatory drawing by French artists Jules-Edmond-Charles Lise and Eugène-Pierredet from the second half of the 19th century, captures the opulent spirit of that era's interior decoration. Created with graphite, gilt, gouache, and on a modest sheet measuring 8 13/16 x 10 9/16 inches, this intricate design likely envisioned an elaborate ceiling for a grand architectural space, such as a Parisian hôtel particulier or public building. The mixed-media technique highlights the artists' mastery: graphite for precise underdrawings, vibrant gouache and waterco...
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...