La morgue, Paris (The Mortuary)

1854

Charles Meryon

Associated Names
Charles Meryon

Artist, French, 1821 - 1868

The image shows an urban scene near a waterway. A dockside area with people, boats, and buildings is depicted in intricate detail. The skyline is dominated by tall buildings emitting smoke. The illustration features fine etching and a monochromatic sepia color palette. People are seen on an elevated level observing the scene below, with multi-storied buildings in the background.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and drypoint on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of R. Horace Gallatin

  • Dimensions

    image (irreg.): 21.2 × 19 cm (8 3/8 × 7 1/2 in.)
    plate: 23.2 × 20.7 cm (9 1/8 × 8 1/8 in.)
    sheet: 29.1 × 24.8 cm (11 7/16 × 9 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.1.29

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Schneiderman 1990, no. 42, State iv/vii

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Knoedler & Co., New York); purchased 1915 by R. Horace Gallatin [1871-1948], New York City; gift to NGA, 1949.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1983

  • Graphic Survey Show, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., July 1983.

1995

  • Prints by James McNeill Whistler and His Contemporaries, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1995, as The Mortuary, Paris.

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

"C. Meryon del. sculp. mdcccliv" lower left margin, in plate, artist's hand. "Imp. Rue neuve St. Etienne-du-Mont. No 26.-" lower right margin, in plate, artist's hand. "9970" verso, lower left sheet, graphite, unknown hand.

Wikidata ID

Q65071235

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