The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Notre-Dame de Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris

c. 1881
(French, 1846–1920)
France, 19th century
pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, black and white gouache, and graphite
Sheet: 32.6 x 21.7 cm (12 13/16 x 8 9/16 in.)
Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2008.359
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

After creating this drawing, Luc-Olivier Merson went on to illustrate an important 1889 edition of Notre-Dame de Paris, one of the major projects of his career.

Description

Victor Hugo's celebrated 1831 novel Notre-Dame de Paris tells the story of Quasimodo, a disfigured orphan raised by the archdeacon of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Hugo's novel became an important influence on many artists and helped to define a poetic view of the medieval period and of Gothic architecture that lasted well into the second half of the century. This drawing by Luc-Olivier Merson was reproduced as a wood engraving in an illustrated tribute to Hugo published in 1881.
  • 1975
    (sale, Hôtel Georges V, Paris, June 25, 1975, no. 106)
    1976
    (sale, Parke-Bernet, New York, May 14, 1976, no. 263, sold to Muriel Butkin, Shaker Heights, OH)
    1976-2008
    Muriel Butkin [1916-2008], Shaker Heights, OH, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    2008-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 As Les Tours de Notre-Dame.
    2 As Gargoyles and Ravens.
  • Foster, Carter E., Sylvain Bellenger, and Patrick Shaw Cable. French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Mentioned: pp. 122-23, 143-44, no. 56; Reproduced: p. 123
    Dessins et aquarelles du XIXe siècle. Paris: Galerie La Nouvelle Athènes, 2021. Reproduced: under no. 42
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 As Les Tours de Notre-Dame.
    2 As Gargoyles and Ravens.
  • French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001); Dahesh Museum of Art (February 19-May 18, 2002).
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 As Les Tours de Notre-Dame.
    2 As Gargoyles and Ravens.
  • {{cite web|title=Notre-Dame de Paris|url=false|author=Luc-Olivier Merson|year=c. 1881|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 As Les Tours de Notre-Dame.
    2 As Gargoyles and Ravens.

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2008.359