The Cleveland Museum of Art
Young Saint John
Description
In the spring of 1890 Berthe Morisot and her husband, Eugène Manet, rented a house with a garden overlooking the Seine River in the rural French town of Mézy. Morisot worked in the attic studio while the pair was there. A young boy from the village served as the model for this pastel, one of several studies for a full-length painting of Saint John the Baptist with his cross. In this drawing, Morisot developed the loose and sketchy marks that would characterize her final canvas.
Provenance
Mr. [1874–1942] and Mrs. [1878–1966] Ernest Rouart, Paris; (Durand-Ruel, Paris); Private collection; Mr. [1880–1966] and Mrs. [1879–1980] Lewis B. Williams, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Dimensions
57.1 × 38.1 cm
Movement / Period
Accession No
1975.83
Official Citations
Curatorial Affinity Stream
Continuing the Universe of Berthe Morisot (French, 1841–1895)
Drawings • France, 19th century • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries
Continuous Discovery