Océanie, ilots à Uvea (Wallis); Peche aux palmes, 1845 (Oceania: Fishing, Near Islands with Palms in the Uea or Wallis Group)

1863

Charles Meryon

Associated Names
Charles Meryon

Artist, French, 1821 - 1868

The image depicts a waterside scene viewed from a low vantage point above the water surface. Closest to us, there is a body of water with gentle ripples, and several figures are partially submerged as they wade through it. Beyond the water, the horizon line is set low in the composition, revealing a distant ship with sails raised, silhouetted against the sky, and an island densely populated with palm trees to the right. The sky is filled with billowing clouds, rendered with soft, cross-hatched strokes that suggest tenderness in the atmosphere and depth in the scene. The overall color palette is monochrome in sepia tones, lending an air of timelessness to the image and highlighting detailed line work.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 11.6 × 29.3 cm (4 9/16 × 11 9/16 in.)
    plate: 15.8 × 33.8 cm (6 1/4 × 13 5/16 in.)
    sheet: 31.7 × 45.5 cm (12 1/2 × 17 15/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.6185

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Schneiderman 1990, no. 88, State v/vi

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1924

  • Delteil, Loys and Harold J.L. Wright. Catalogue raisonne of the Etchings of Charles Meryon. New York: Winfred Porter Truesdell, 1924.

1990

  • Schneiderman, Richard S. The Catalogue Raisonne of the Prints by Charles Meryon. London: Garton & Co., 1990.

Inscriptions

Not signed. Not dated. "LD 68III" lower left margin, graphite, unknown hand. "EE851" lower right margin, graphite, unknown hand. "No 120" verso lower left sheet, graphite, unknown hand. "C.M. 65" verso, lower right sheet, graphite, unknown hand.

Markings

"LRJ" verso, black stamped ink, stamped twice, (Lugt 1760b). "National Gallery of Art" verso, black stamped ink, (Lugt 1932d).

Watermarks

[crest] "HP / HALLINES"

Wikidata ID

Q65019227

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