Partial design for ceiling with a border of flowers
Medium
graphite, pen and ink, watercolor, and gouache on wove paper
Dimensions
Overall: 8 3/8 x 8 5/16 in. (21.3 x 21.1 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Dodge Fund, 1967
Accession Number
67.827.295
Tags
Art Historical Context
Imagine stepping into the opulent interiors of 19th-century, where intricate ceiling designs transformed rooms into floral paradises. This *Partial design for ceiling with border of flowers* by Jules-Edmond- Lachaise and Eug-Pierre Gourdet captures that grandeur in miniature. Created during the artists' active years (183–97), it served as a preparatory sketch for architectural decoration, a hallmark of the era's decorative arts amid the Second Empire's taste for elaborate ornamentation. Rendered on wove paper—a smooth, sturdy support ideal for detailed work—the drawing masterfully combines gr...
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...