The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 28, 2023

Study of a Plant, Possibly Thistle

1862

Léon Bonvin

(French, 1834–1866)

France, 19th century

Watercolor and pen and brown ink with white heightening

Support: Wove? paper, laid down on blue wove? paper

Sheet: 25.3 x 29.5 cm (9 15/16 x 11 5/8 in.); Secondary Support: 25.3 x 29.5 cm (9 15/16 x 11 5/8 in.)

Bequest of Noah L. Butkin 1980.236

Location

not on view

Description

Neglected within his own time, the watercolors of Bonvin have only come to be fully appreciated in the late 20th century. An artist with little formal training, Bonvin earned a living working in his family’s inn in Vaugirard, on the outskirts of Paris. The landscape near his home and studies of the inn’s garden became his themes.

Inscriptions

Inscription

signed, lower left, in brown ink: Léon Bonvin 1862

Citations
Guichané, Maud, Gabriel P. Weisberg, Léon Bonvin, Jo Briggs, Ger Luijten, and Michèle Quentin. Drawn to the Everyday: Léon Bonvin 1834-1866 : Catalogue Raisonné. Paris : Fondation Custodia, 2022. Reproduced: p. 138, no. 36; mentioned: p. 230, no. 36
Exhibition history

CMA, French Drawings from the Collection (Dec. 13, 1994-Mar. 12, 1995).

CMA, Year in Review for 1980 (June 24-July 19, 1981), cma Bulletin 68 (1981), p. 215 no. 179, illus. p. 181.

CMA; Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, The Drawings and Watercolors of Léon Bonvin (Nov. 12, 1980-Jan. 18, 1981; Feb. 15-Mar. 27, 1981), no. 9, illus. p. 32.

Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; 8/15/04-11/14/04. "Nature Sublime: Landscapes from the 19th Century". No exhibition catalogue.

Year in Review: 1980. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (June 24-July 19, 1981).

French Drawings from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 13, 1994-March 12, 1995).

Nature Sublime: Landscapes from the 19th Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 15-November 14, 2004).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1980.236