Christopher Columbus and His Son at La Rábida

1838

Eugène Delacroix

Artist, French, 1798 - 1863

A bearded man, a young man, and five monks stand in a cream-white hall hung with a map and paintings in this horizontal painting. The people all have pale, peachy skin. The scene is lit from windows lining the wall to our left, where three monks stand, presumably talking. They and the other two monks wear long white robes with marine-blue hoods and cloth panels that hang down the fronts of the cassocks. Two monks have their hoods up and the other two have their hair cut into rings around their heads. The bearded man, Christopher Columbus, stands to the right on the other side of the hall, looking at a map hanging there. He has chin-length, dark hair and wears a bronze-brown, knee-length jacket, dark blue, knee-length pantaloons, and golden yellow stockings. His right hand, closer to us, is planted palm out against his hip, and he holds a red hat in that hand. The other foot is perched on a long bench that stretches along that wall. The young man sits and leans back on the bench with one forearm along the bench’s armrest. His other hand rests on Columbus’s knee, and Columbus rests his hand on that. The boy has long brown hair and wears a red cap, a parchment-white robe over yellow sleeves, sage-green stockings, and laced, toeless boots. Two bundles and a long stick are against the wall on our side of the bench. An object on the floor next to Columbus’s standing leg is covered by a brown cloth. A gold chain and a pink hoof protrude from the blanket. One of the monks standing behind Columbus wears a tight-fitting blue cap. A rosary hangs over his cassock from his waist, and extra panels of blue fabric drape down over his shoulders. Four paintings in our view hang near the high ceiling of the hall, which has arched openings and a pink floor. Doors or oversized shutters swing into view at the far end of the hall. The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower left corner, “Eug. Delacroix. 1838.”

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Chester Dale Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 90.3 x 118 cm (35 9/16 x 46 7/16 in.)
    framed: 118.4 x 146.7 cm (46 5/8 x 57 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1963.10.127

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Commissioned by Anatoly Nikolaievich Demidov [1812-1870], prince of San Donato, near Florence; (his sale, 26 boulevard des Italiens, Paris, 21 February 1870, no. 25);[1] purchased by Edouard André, Paris, for 38,000 francs;[2] purchased 30 November 1887 by (Arnold & Tripp, Paris); sold 1 December 1887 to E. Secrétan [d. 1899], Paris;[3] (his sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 13 July 1889, no. 13, 30,187 francs); purchased by (Durand-Ruel et Cie., New York and Paris);[4] (M. Knoedler & Co., London, New York, and Paris), by 1890;[5] Peter A.B. Widener [1834-1915], Philadelphia, and Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, by 1892;[6] sold 1910 to (M. Knoedler & Co., London and New York, and P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London, New York, and Paris);[7] sold to (Galerie Georges Petit, Paris);[8] Ferdinand Blumenthal [d. 1914], Paris, by 1912;[9] Count Cecil Pecci-Blunt [d.1965], Paris; sold 6 July 1929 to (Alex Reid & Lefevre, London); one third shares with (La Peinture Contemporain, Lucerne, and Peinture Contemporaine, Paris);[10] sold 9 February 1932 to Chester Dale [1883-1962], New York; bequest 1963 to NGA.
[1] The original etching by Félix Bracquemond was published in the catalogue of the Demidov sale, 21 February 1870; its reproduction by the photographic zinc-plate process of Gillot père appeared in L'Illustration, 5 February 1870: 101.
[2] Annotated sales catalogue from M. Knoedler & Co. library. This is probably the Edouard André whose collection, with that of his wife Nélie Jacquemart, forms the Paris museum that bears their names.
[3] Chester Dale papers in NGA curatorial files.
[4] Chester Dale papers in NGA curatorial files and Algernon Graves, Art Sales (London: 1918-1923) I: 213.
[5] Getty Provenance Index citing M. Knoedler & Co.'s records.
[6] The picture is visible in a photograph, probably dating from 1892, of the Widener's picture gallery in Philadelphia, published in Michael J. Lewis, "He was not a Connoisseur," Nineteenth Century 12 (1993): 34. See William J. Williams' memo dated 4 February 1994 in NGA curatorial files.
[7] Lynnewood Hall card file of Widener Collection objects in NGA curatorial files says Widener sold the painting in 1910 to M. Knoedler. The Getty Provenance Index, citing M. Knoedler's records, includes P. & D. Colnaghi.
[8] Getty Provenance Index, citing M. Knoedler's records.
[9] Précis dated 9 February 1932, in NGA curatorial files.
[10] Reid & Lefevre Paintings Sold sheet no. 268, #156/29 B1582, gives acquisition source and sale date, and information about partial shares (Lefevre archives, Hyman Kreitman Research Centre, Tate Britain, London, TGA 2002/11, Box 283); see also correspondence between Reid & Lefevre and Galerie Georges Petit dated October-November (Lefevre archives, Hyman Kreitman Research Centre, Tate Britain, London, TGA 2002/11, Box 218). La Peinture Contemporaine lent the painting to a 1931 exhibition at the Musée Permanent des Colonies in Paris (Exposition Coloniale Internationale de Paris, part I, unnumbered). The bill of sale dated 9 February 1932 in NGA curatorial files is between Chester Dale and La Peinture Contemporaine S.A., Lucerne, "Representant de la Societé Anonyme des Galerie Georges Petit, Paris." Chester Dale papers in NGA curatorial files list the source of the painting as Bignou, a partner of Reid & Lefevre.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1878

  • Tableaux anciens et modernes exposés au profit du Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Palais des Tuileries, Pavillon de Flore, Paris, 1878, no. 80

1885

  • Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1885, no. 239A (Supplement)

1928

  • Oeuvres d'Eugène Delacroix, Paul Rosenberg & Co., Paris, 1928

1930

  • Exposition Eugène Delacroix, Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1930, no. 91

1931

  • Exposition Coloniale Internationale de Paris, Part I, "Exposition rétrospective de la section de synthèses," Musée Permanent des Colonies, Paris, 1931, unnumbered, repro., as Christophe Colomb découvrant l'Amérique.

1932

  • Taste of Today in Masterpieces of Painting before 1900, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1932, no cat.

1965

  • The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.

1975

  • The European Vision of America, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Cleveland Museum of Art; Grand Palais, Paris, 1975-1977, no. 277, repro. (shown in Washington only, 1975-1976).

1979

  • French Romanticism, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1979, unnumbered checklist.

Bibliography

1856

  • Silvestre, Théophile. Histoire des artistes vivants, français et étrangers. Etudes d'après nature. Paris, 1856: 81.

1870

  • Gautier, Théophile. "Collections San Donato." L'Illustration 55 (1870): 101, repro.

1873

  • Moreau, Adolphe. Delacroix et son oeuvre. Paris, 1873: 250 (the reproductive engraving by Braquemond, 94, no. 27).

1885

  • Robaut, Alfred. L'Oeuvre complet de Eugène Delacroix, peintures, dessins, gravures, lithographies. Paris, 1885: 178, no. 659.

  • Ponsonailhe. Charles. "L'Exposition de l'oeuvre d'Eugène Delcroix." L'Artiste 9th ser., no. XXIII (1885): 177.

1916

  • Moreau-Nélaton, Etienne. Delacroix raconté par lui-même. 2 vols. Paris, 1916: I:192, fig. 180.

1930

  • Escholier, Raymond. "Delacroix voyageur." Revue de l'Art Ancien et Moderne 57 (1930): 13-48.

  • Hourticq, Louis. Delacroix, l'oeuvre du mâitre. Paris, 1930: 69, repro.

  • Joubin, André. "Quinze jours en Espagne avec Delacroix, 16-30 mai 1832." Revue de l'Art Ancien et Moderne 57 (1930): 49-56.

1932

  • Art News 30, no. 28 (April 1932): 6, repro. on cover.

1941

  • Catalogue of French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 7-8, pl. XIV.

  • Frankfurter, Alfred M. "Now the Great French 19th Century in the National Gallery." Art News 40, no. 17 (December 15-31, 1941):repro. p. 18

  • "The Chester Dale Pictures on loan to the National Gallery of Art." Magazine of Art 34 no. 9 (November 1941): 476+, repro.

1942

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 23, repro.

1944

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1944: 23, repro.

1951

  • Lambert, Elie. "Delacroix et l'Espagne." La Revue des Arts (September 1951): 168, 170.

1952

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds., Great Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1952: 148, color repro.

1953

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1953: 25, repro.

1959

  • Evans, Grose. French Painting of the 19th Century in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 1959 (Booklet Number Two in Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.): 16, color repro.

1963

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 323, repro.

  • Huyghe, René. Delacroix. New York, 1963: 294, 303.

  • Johnson, Lee. Delacroix. London, 1963: pl. 32.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 40.

  • Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 33, repro.

1966

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 2:408, color repro.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 33, repro.

1971

  • Trapp, Frank A. The Attainment of Delacroix. Baltimore, 1971: 115, 193-194, fig. 113.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 100, repro.

1976

  • Honour, Hugh. "L'Image de Christophe Colomb." La Revue du Louvre 4 (1976): 261-262, repro.

1981

  • Johnson, Lee. The Paintings of Eugène Delacroix. 6 vols. Oxford, 1981: 3:84-85, no. 265; 4:pl. 82.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 423, no. 605, color repro.

  • Georgel, Pierre. Tout l'oeuvre peint de Delacroix. Paris, 1984: 107, no. 339, repro. 106.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 123, repro.

1993

  • Luxenberg. Alisa. "Over the Pyrenees and through the Looking-Glass..." In Spain, Espagne, Spanien: Foreign Artists Discover Spain. Exh. cat. The Equitable Gallery in Association with the Spanish Institute, New York, 1993: 17-18, repro.

1997

  • Jobert, Barthélémy. Delacroix. Princeton, 1997: no. 225, repro.

2000

  • Eitner, Lorenz. French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I: Before Impressionism. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2000: 220-228, color repro.

Inscriptions

lower left: Eug. Delacroix. 1838.

Wikidata ID

Q20186329

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