“Destined to be born and perish with equal quickness”: The Making and Unmaking of 19th-Century Paper
- Lecture
John C. and Sally S. Morley Family Foundation Lecture Hall
Études de chiffonniers (detail), 1849. Gustave Doré (French, 1832–1883). Lithograph; 33.8 x 25.7 cm. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Photo: BnF
About The Event
The 19th century witnessed a revolution in the manufacture and use of paper that had far-reaching effects on the arts. This lecture, organized to complement the exhibition Nineteenth-Century French Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art, situates the changes that paper underwent in the context of key developments in trade, cotton cultivation, and textile production and consumption around the world. It also highlights artists’ and writers’ reactions to these shifts, revealing their profound concern about the longevity of the paper supports of their pictures and publications.
Michelle Foa is associate professor of art history in the Newcomb Art Department of Tulane University. Her research focuses on 19th-century French art and visual and material culture.
Free; no ticket required
Principal support is provided by the Getty Foundation as part of The Paper Project initiative. Major support is provided by the Wolfgang Ratjen Foundation, Liechtenstein. Additional support is provided by the Simon Family Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.
All exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Exhibitions. Principal annual support is provided by Michael Frank and the late Pat Snyder. Major annual support is provided by the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Generous annual support is provided by an anonymous supporter, the late Dick Blum and Harriet Warm, Gary and Katy Brahler, Cynthia and Dale Brogan, Dr. Ben and Julia Brouhard, Brenda and Marshall Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Walter R. Chapman Jr., Richard and Dian Disantis, Leigh and Andy Fabens, Janice Hammond and Edward Hemmelgarn, Carl T. Jagatich, Cathy Lincoln, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, William S. and Margaret F. Lipscomb, Bill and Joyce Litzler, Carl and Lu Anne Morrison, Tim O’Brien and Breck Platner, William J. and Katherine T. O’Neill, Henry Ott-Hansen, Michael and Cindy Resch, the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation, Margaret and Loyal Wilson, and Claudia C. Woods and David A. Osage.
All education programs at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Education. Principal support is provided by Dieter and Susan M. Kaesgen. Major annual support is provided by Brenda and Marshall Brown, David and Robin Gunning, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, Gail C. and Elliott L. Schlang, Shurtape Technologies, and the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation. Generous annual support is provided by an anonymous donor, Gini and Randy Barbato, the M. E. and F. J. Callahan Foundation, Dr. William A. Chilcote Jr. and Dr. Barbara S. Kaplan, Char and Chuck Fowler, the Giant Eagle Foundation, Robin Heiser, the late Marta and the late Donald M. Jack Jr., Bill and Joyce Litzler, the Logsdon Family Fund for Education, Sarah Nash, William J. and Katherine T. O’Neill, the Pickering Foundation, William Roj and Mary Lynn Durham, Betty T. and David M. Schneider, the Sally and Larry Sears Fund for Education Endowment, Roy Smith, Paula and Eugene Stevens, the Trilling Family Foundation, and the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art.