Drover with Oxen Pulling a Cart

1840/41

Théodore Chassériau

Associated Names
Théodore Chassériau

Artist, French, 1819 - 1856

This is a painting of a group of oxen being driven through a landscape. The painting depicts three oxen harnessed together, striding across a terrain suggested by the lines and swirls of color beneath them. The oxen are rendered with dynamic strokes. The oxen have a variety of shades, including earthy browns and blues that accentuate the contours of their muscles and features. Above them, a flock of birds is represented by scattered silhouettes against a sky that transitions from beige to blue. The overall palate of the painting uses muted earth tones with hints of blue, integrating the figures of the oxen seamlessly into the landscape.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    watercolor over brush and brown ink on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Helen Porter and James T. Dyke

  • Dimensions

    overall: 25 x 30.6 cm (9 13/16 x 12 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2002.29.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Chassériau atelier, Paris (Lugt 443); (its sale, Paris, 16-17 March, 1857, probably part of lots 67, 68, or 99). Elizabeth Molnar, New York; (her sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, 24 November 1965, no. 45). Norbert L. H. Roesler, New York; (his sale, Christie's New York, 31 May 1990, no. 58). (sale, Sotheby's New York, 7 April 2000, no. 124, bought in). (Colnaghi, New York); purchased 2001 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2001

  • Colnaghi: An Exhibition of Master Drawings, Adam Williams Fine Art Ltd., New York, 2001, no.45.

2012

  • Color, Line, Light: French Drawings, Watercolors, and Pastels from Delacroix to Signac. Musée des impressionnismes Giverny and National Gallery of Art, Washington. Washington, 2012, 39, 158, no. 14 (color). (French title: De Delacroix à Signac: Dessins de la collection Dyke).

Bibliography

1974

  • Sandoz, Marc. Théodore Chassériau, Catalogue raisonné des peintures et estampes. Paris, 1974: 36, plate 9.

1988

  • Prat, Louis-Antoine. Théodore Chassériau, cahiers du dessin français no. 5. Paris, 1988: no. 65.

2014

  • Christie's, London. Sale cat. "Old Master and British Drawings and Watercolours." 10 July 2014: 73, under no. 178.

Inscriptions

rough sketch of a cow on verso

Wikidata ID

Q64633064

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