Design for a Decorative Panel with Two Sirens Holding a Vase Embellished with Dolphins and other Decorative Motifs

1777

Gilles Paul Cauvet

Associated Names
Gilles Paul Cauvet

Artist, French, 1731 - 1788

This is a drawing of an ornate vase with intricate decorative elements. The central feature is an elaborately designed vase with floral motifs and scrolling foliage. At the base of the vase, two mythical creatures hold up the vase, surrounded by a garland of leaves and flowers. The body of the vase is detailed with festoons and classical decorations, including what appear to be masks or stylized creatures at the top. The background is filled with delicate, symmetrical tendrils and flourishes. The overall composition is elegant and reflects a style that emphasizes symmetry and ornamental beauty.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    red chalk on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of David H. McDonnell

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 47.31 × 18.73 cm (18 5/8 × 7 3/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2022.14.3

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Martine-Marie-Pol de Béhague, Comtesse de Béarn, Paris [1870 – 1939]; by descent until 1995; (sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 29 November 1995, no. 105). Kate de Rothschild (born 1949), London, in 1996. Horace Wood Brock; (Stephen Ongpin Fine Art, London, 2018); David McDonnell, Arlington, VA; gift to NGA, 2021.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

-1

  • Watteau to Gauguin, French Drawings 1700 - 1900, Stephen Ongpin Fine Art, London, no. 27a.

1996

  • Master Drawings, Kate de Rothschild at Didier Aaron, Inc., New York, 1996, no. 23.

2000

  • Classic Taste: Drawings and Decorative Art from the Collection of Horace Brock, Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University, 2000.

2009

  • Splendor and Elegance: European Decorative Arts and Drawings from the Horace Wood Brock Collection, Museum of Fine Art, Boston, 2009, no. 154.

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