The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

In the Forest

In the Forest

1841
(French, 1813–1873)
France, 19th century
oil on fabric
Framed: 123.2 x 155.6 x 12.7 cm (48 1/2 x 61 1/4 x 5 in.); Unframed: 97 x 129.8 cm (38 3/16 x 51 1/8 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin 1977.125
Location: not on view

Description

With its beautifully rendered trees, grassy slopes, and water bathed in late afternoon sunlight, this painting clearly suggests Nanteuil's love of nature. In 1837 he wrote to a friend: "I often spend several hours . . . looking at beautiful plants with large leaves, cut out like sumptuous lace, tall grasses in ponds, their color silky and the beautiful reflections they make in the water, the little flowers with thousands of colours the ground is embroidered with, all provide me with a source of enjoyment." Although the forest Nanteuil described seems very real, his painting includes a satyr. Seated on a stone near a stream, the half human, half goat mythological figure seems lost in the music he plays upon his pipes. Nanteuil is most famous for his lithographs and etchings; paintings by the artist are rather rare.
  • Private collection, France. Paris sale, Drouot room 4, 23 November 1973, Hubert Maringe Commissaire-priseur. Galerie André Watteau, Paris. Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin, Cleveland. Given to the CMA on 20 October 1977.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 207 archive.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. 479-481, Vol. II, no. 167
  • Year in Review: 1977. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978).
    Paris. Salon (1841), no. 1492, Intérieur de forêt.
  • {{cite web|title=In the Forest|url=false|author=Célestin François Nanteuil|year=1841|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1977.125