Gaiety and Grief

1774/1775

Charles-Nicolas Cochin II

Associated Names
Charles-Nicolas Cochin II

Artist, French, 1715 - 1790

The image depicts two figures. The first figure is standing, holding a staff with a banner that reads "L'Allegresse." They are wearing a draped garment, with one shoulder exposed. The figure has short, curly hair adorned with leaves or small flowers. The second figure is seated at the feet of the standing figure, with a hand on their head. The background shows rocky formations, sparse vegetation, and a textured ground.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    red chalk with touches of black chalk on laid paper, laid down, with border lines drawn by the artist

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall (sheet): 12.7 x 7.9 cm (5 x 3 1/8 in.)
    image (to border line): 10.8 x 6.3 cm (4 1/4 x 2 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1987.29.2

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Galerie Cailleux, Paris); acquired 1987 by the NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2009

  • Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2009, 234-235, 290, no. 102a (color).

Bibliography

1877

  • Portalis, Baron Roger de. Les dessinateurs d'illustrations au 18e siècle. 2 parts in 4 vols. Paris, 1877, 1 (pt. 1): 123.

1880

  • Goncourt, Edmond, and Jules de Goncourt. L'art du dix-huitième siècle. 2 vols. Paris, 1880-1884: 2:125.

1912

  • Cohen, Henri. Guide de l'amateur de livres à gravures de XVIIIe siècle. 6th ed., rev. and augmented by Seymour de Ricci. Paris, 191: col. 455.

1987

  • Michel, Christian. Charles-Nicolas Cochin et le livre illustré au XVIIIe siècle. Geneva, 1987: 314, no. 152q.

Inscriptions

across bottom in red chalk: L'Allegresse : Le chagrin.; numbered in red chalk at top center: 5; in banner on the thyrsys in red chalk: HILARITAS

Wikidata ID

Q64539642

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