Artwork Page for A Funeral

Details / Information for A Funeral

A Funeral

c. mid-1870s-early 1880s

Jean-Paul Laurens

(French, 1838–1921)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
charcoal and brush and black and brown ink, with stumping and scratching away
Support
Beige wove paper
Measurements
Sheet: 40.1 x 29 cm (15 13/16 x 11 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2008.368
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

The macabre subject matter of A Funeral is typical of Jean-Paul Laurens, whose interest in depicting cadavers and coffins earned him the nickname "the painter of the dead." Laurens was also attracted to subjects from church history, and, here, the crosier leaning against the door behind the coffin indicates the deceased was a bishop. Highly finished drawings like this one are rare in Laurens's production. His technique of covering the surface with a variety of media and scratching away for highlights is quite similar to the one used by another artist in the exhibition-Alexandre Bida, in his Café at Constantinople [cat. no. 34]. Laurens utilized the technique effectively in this gloomy scene, where the glowing candle flame casts long shadows and feebly illuminates the columns receding into darkness on the left.
A vertically oriented, predominantly dark-toned charcoal drawing depicts a somber interior. In the lower center, a rectangular coffin rests beside a flickering candle. The light illuminates a heavy wooden door with ornate metal hinges to our right. In the deep shadows to our left, a hooded figure stands with their head bowed. Dim columns rise behind into the dark. The composition features visible scratching and smudging throughout the textured shadows.

A Funeral

c. mid-1870s-early 1880s

Jean-Paul Laurens

(French, 1838–1921)
France, 19th century

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