Comedie de la Mort

1854

Rodolphe Bresdin

Associated Names
Rodolphe Bresdin

Artist, French, 1822 - 1885

This is a drawing of a landscape with skeletal figures and trees. The scene shows skeletons among gnarled trees. The sky has detailed clouds, and there is a body of water reflecting the scenery. Bones and skulls are scattered throughout the scene, creating an eerie atmosphere. The composition conveys death and decay with surreal elements.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    lithograph

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    image: 21.7 x 15.1 cm (8 9/16 x 5 15/16 in.)
    sheet: 47.8 x 31.3 cm (18 13/16 x 12 5/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1983.92.1

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Van Gelder 1976, no. 84, State i/vi

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1986

  • Graphic Survey Show, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., February 1986.

1995

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

2009

  • The Darker Side of Light: Arts of Privacy, 1850-1900, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; NGA; Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, 2009 - 2010

Bibliography

1976

  • Gelder, Dirk van. Rodolphe Bresdin. 2 vols. La Haye: M. Nijhoff, 1976.

Inscriptions

lower left in plate: RBresdin 1854; all below image, lower left in plate: Redolphe Bresdin, Fecit, 1854; lower center in plate: DEPOSE; lower right in plate: Lith:Bertrand & Barthere, r.St.Rome 50, Toulouse;

Wikidata ID

Q74044482

You may be interested in

Loading Results