The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

The Curious One

The Curious One

1823
(French, 1761–1827)
France, 19th century
oil on paper mounted to canvas
Unframed: 43.5 x 34.6 cm (17 1/8 x 13 5/8 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin 1977.116
Location: not on view

Description

Here a young man uses a ladder to climb over a garden wall. The sign at his right translates into "School for Young Ladies under the Direction of Mrs. Wachsam"—wachsam being the German word for "watchful." Apparently, overcome by curiosity, the man cannot resist his desire to see the young women concealed behind the wall. Scenes with amorous, sometimes voyeuristic overtones are common in the work of Mongin. The artist also seems fascinated with depicting the exact details of his settings. In 1824, a critic who saw The Curious One wrote that Mongin's paintings are "portraits of houses coated in plaster, garden trees, almost trivial details, and this pleases me greatly. Full of naiveté, this is what I need in a landscape, as in a representation of man's actions." The critic's comments clearly demonstrate his appreciation for Mongin's work, as well as the artist's belief in the inherent relationship between nature and man.
  • Thomas Robinson, Providence.
    His sale, New York, Moore's Art Galleries, 16-18 November 1886 (lot 184), Young Ladies' Institute, 17 x 12ž in., as by V. Bertin.
    Wendell P. Colton.
    Victor D. Spark, New York.
    Bought by Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin, 20 November 1977. Given to the CMA in 1977.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 205 archive.org
    Lurie, Ann Tzeutschler. “Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller in the Cleveland Museum of Art: Portrait of Crescentia, Countess Zichy (later Countess Széchenyi) with a Parrot and a Camellia in a Mountainous Landscape.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 1 (1994): 3-17. Mentioned: p. 16 www.jstor.org
    Argencourt, Louise d', and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 463-465, Vol. II, no. 160
  • Impressionist Gardens. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh (July 31-October 17, 2010); Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain (November 23, 2010-February 27, 2011).
    National Gallery of Scotland (7/31/2010 - 10/17/2010) and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza (11/23/2010 - 2/27/2011): "Impressionist Gardens"
    Year in Review: 1977. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978).
    Paris, Grand Palais; Detroit Institute of Arts; New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. French Painting 1774-1830: The Age of Revolution (1974-75), 270 (repr.), no. 132. Text by Robert Rosenblum.
    Paris. Salon (1824), no. 1236, Le curieux; étude d'après nature.
  • {{cite web|title=The Curious One|url=false|author=Antoine Pierre Mongin|year=1823|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1977.116