The Artist in His Room at the Villa Medici, Rome
1817
Léon Cogniet
Léon Cogniet (French, 1794–1880)
Modern European Painting and Sculpture
The Artist in His Room at the Villa Medici, Rome, 1817. Léon Cogniet (French, 1794–1880). Oil on canvas; framed: 58 x 51 x 7.5 cm (22 13/16 x 20 1/16 x 2 15/16 in.); unframed: 44.5 x 37 cm (17 1/2 x 14 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1978.51 Léon Cogniet was one of many artists who traveled from across Europe to Rome during the early 19th century, drawing upon the city’s ancient past and its surrounding landscape for inspiration. In this formally composed scene, the artist stands within his studio, its walls bare and colorless in contrast to the dramatic light cast through his open window. In 1817, Léon Cogniet won the Prix de Rome for history painting, allowing him to live and work in the city for five years. The helmet, shield, and swords seen at left refer to the expectation that Cogniet would produce a history painting each year to send back to Paris for review.
- Maker/Artist
- Cogniet, Léon
- Classification
- Painting
- Formatted Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 58 x 51 x 7.5 cm (22 13/16 x 20 1/16 x 2 15/16 in.); Unframed: 44.5 x 37 cm (17 1/2 x 14 9/16 in.)
- Departments
- Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Accession Number
- 1978.51
- Credit Line
- Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
- Exhibitions
- Year in Review: 1978, In the Light of Italy: Corot and Early Plein-air Painting, Paysages d'Italie. Les peintres du plein air 1780-1830, "un paese incantato" Italia dipinta da Thomas Jones a Corot, Maestá di Roma, da Napoleon all'Unita d'Italia: Da Ingres à Degas. Les artistes français à Rome, Rooms with Views: The Open Window in the 19th Century, Viva Roma!, Stories From Storage, London, Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox. From Revolution to Second Republic (1978), no. 24 (repr.)., Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art; Brooklyn Museum; Saint Louis Art Museum. In the Light of Italy: Corot and Early Open-Air Painting (1996-97), no. 59 (repr.)., Paris: Galeries nationales du Grand Palais (4/3/01 - 7/9/01); Mantova, Italy: Palazzo Te (9/1/01 - 12/9/01) "Paysages d'Italie. Les peintres du plein air (1780-1830), exh. cat. no. 6, pp 14-15., French Academy in Rome, Villa Medici (3/5/2003 - 6/29/2003): "Maestá di Roma, da Napoleon all'Unita d'Italia: Da Ingres a Degas: Les artistes francais a Rome", exh. cat. no. 50, p. 219., New York, Dahesh Museum of Art (September 3 - November 2, 2003): "French Artists in Rome: Ingres to Degas, 1803 - 1873"
- Rights Statement
- CC0
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