The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of May 4, 2024
Decoration Executed for the Birthday of His Majesty the King of Westphalia
1811
(French, 1782–1868)
Sheet: 32 x 42.3 cm (12 5/8 x 16 5/8 in.); Secondary Support: 44 x 53.2 cm (17 5/16 x 20 15/16 in.)
Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2008.341
Location: not on view
Description
A scenic designer for the Paris Opera, Cicéri created this decoration for a performance celebrating the birthday of Emperor Napoleon’s brother, Jérôme Bonaparte (1784–1860), King of Westphalia, a vassal state of territories taken from Prussia and its allies. Antoine-André Bruguière, named in the inscription as the commissioner of the decoration, was Westphalia’s secretary of the ministry of war and the superintendent of theaters in Kassel, the state’s capital city. The title of the special performance is unknown, but the triumphal arch, Corinthian columns topped with vases, and classical statues all suggest a Roman theme.- Foster, Carter E., Sylvain Bellenger, and Patrick Shaw Cable. French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Referenced: cat. no. 25, p. 60-61, Reproduced: 61
- Elegance and Intrigue: French Society in 18th-century Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 16-November 6, 2016).French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001); Dahesh Museum of Art (February 19-May 18, 2002).
- {{cite web|title=Decoration Executed for the Birthday of His Majesty the King of Westphalia|url=false|author=Pierre-Luc-Charles Cicéri|year=1811|access-date=04 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2008.341