We often think of art as the work of just one person. In the case of this mirror, its harmonious appearance conceals the number of people involved in its creation. The designer Félix Bracquemond was commissioned by wealthy banker Baron Joseph Vitta to create decorative objects for his multiple homes. Bracquemond worked with other artists in making this mirror: well-known sculptor Auguste Rodin created the figure of Venus; artisan Alexandre Riquet fashioned the elaborate enameled decoration; and goldsmiths from Parisian jewelers Falize Frères completed the mirror and its blue translucent frame embedded with yellow, pink, and white flowers. Through close collaboration between patron, designer, and artists, this mirror represents the trend at the end of the 1800s for blending artistic specialties to create a single work of art.

The CMA’s collection includes Bracquemond’s preparatory drawings for the mirror and Rodin’s carved plaster model for the figure of Venus.

Inscriptions

Inscription

cipher engraved on inside top of handle: "VITTA" (in monogram form)

Inscription

Cast at bottom of relief: A Rod - -

Inscription

on the plique-a-jour enamel, the date and mark of Bracquemond and "AR," the monogram for Alexandre Riquet

Provenance

Commissioned by Baron J. Vitta, by descent to his heirs

Heirs of Baron J. Vitta

-July 1978

[Cyril Humphris, Ltd., Ferrers Gallery, London, England]

Ralph King [1855-1926] Cleveland Heights, OH, given by exchange to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1978-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain (10/26/2010 - 2/28/2011): "Jewelry by Artists, from Art Nouveau to the Avant-gardes", ex. cat. no. 177, p. 178-179.

Donley, Gregory M, "A Discerning Eye", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 39 no. 05, May 1999 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 6 archive.org

Harrison, Stephen, Emmanuel Ducamp, Jeannine J Falino. Artistic Luxury: Fabergé Tiffany Lalique. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008. Reproduced: P. 133; Mentioned: P. 324, no. 8

Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1978. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 13-March 18, 1979).

Art Nouveau in France. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 1-September 1, 1979).

Mirrors: Art and Symbol. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 3-November 18, 1984).

Art Nouveau in France. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 12-November 27, 1988).

Félix Bracquemond (1833-1914) et les Arts Décoratifs Du Japonisme à l'Art Nouveau. Musée Adrien Dubouché, Limoges, France (April 5-June 27, 2005).

Artistic Luxury: Fabergé Tiffany Lalique . The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 19, 2008-January 18, 2009); Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (February 7-May 31, 2009).

Jewelry by Artists, from Art Nouveau to the Avant-gardes. Museu Nacional d' Art de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain (organizer) (October 26, 2010-February 28, 2011).

Artlens Exhibition 2019. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer).