The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Angel Blowing a Trumpet

Angel Blowing a Trumpet

1857–59
(French, 1834–1917)
France, 19th century
black chalk
Sheet: 44.1 x 54 cm (17 3/8 x 21 1/4 in.)
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1976.130
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Related studies suggest that the subject is a male model; Degas added breasts almost as an afterthought.

Description

The figure in this drawing closely resembles a number of trumpeting angels in drawings that Edgar Degas made between 1856 and 1858 in preparation for an ambitious but ultimately unrealized history painting on the subject of Saint John the Evangelist accompanied by an angel. Rather than referring to any single passage in the Book of Revelation, Degas distilled an image from passages describing seven trumpeting angels who unleash destruction on earth with their blasts, the voice of Christ that addresses John in loud tones "like a trumpet," and individual angels who lead and instruct the Evangelist.
  • ?-1936
    Monsieur Romanelli
    1936
    (Hôtel Drouot, Paris, Dessins, tableaux, estampes par Cézanne, Degas, Forain...tout appartenant à monsieur R., November 21, 1936, no. 8)
    ?-?
    Professor François Lyon, Lyon
    ?-1976
    (Hector Brame-Jean Lorenceau, Paris, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1976-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 As Joueuse de flûte.
  • Letter from Philippe Brame to Louise S. Richards, September 2, 1976. The Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
    The Print Club of Cleveland, 1919-1969. Cleveland: The Print Club of Cleveland, 1969. Reproduced: p. 82
    Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1976." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 64, no. 2 (1977): 39-78. Reproduced: pp. 41, 52, 75, no. 53 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 213 archive.org
    Nathanson, Carol A., and Edward J. Olszewski. "Degas's Angel of the Apocalypse." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 67, no. 8 (1980): 243-55. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 243-55 www.jstor.org
    Thomson, Richard. Degas: The Nudes. London: Thames and Hudson, 1988. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 36-39, 234, fig. 34
    Turner, Evan H. Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 131
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Diane DeGrazia, and Carter E. Foster. Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with Rizzoli International Publications, New York, 2000. Mentioned: P. 5, 130-31, 290; Reproduced: P. 131, cat. no. 51
    DeVonyar, Jill, and Richard Kendall. Degas and Music. Glen Falls, NY: Hyde Collection, 2009. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 44, 45, no. 2
    Franklin, David. The Cleveland Museum of Art: Director's Choice. London: Scala, 2012. Reproduced: p. 58-59
  • Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 9-June 8, 2014).
    Degas and Music. The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY (organizer) (July 12-October 18, 2009).
    Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008).
    Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002).
    French Drawings from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 13, 1994-March 12, 1995).
    Directions in Drawing: 1750-1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 2-August 4, 1991).
    Gifts of the Print Club of Cleveland, 1969 - 1979. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 4, 1979-January 27, 1980).
    Year in Review, 1976. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 1-March 6, 1977).
  • {{cite web|title=Angel Blowing a Trumpet|url=false|author=Edgar Degas|year=1857–59|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1976.130