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Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (French, 1815–1891),
Young Man Playing the Cello
, 1841
oil on panel, 14 x 10 ½ in.; 35.56 x 26.67 cm
Gift of Francis T. B. Martin, 1995.39
Meissonier enjoyed worldwide renown, great wealth, and official honors
for his small historical genre paintings. Like this work, they are
historically accurate, precisely described, and masterfully executed.
Frequently, they depict gentlemen — smokers, art lovers, chess players,
and musicians — in realistically recreated seventeenth- and
eighteenth-century interiors. In the 1850s, Meissonier turned to larger
historical compositions, notably Napoleonic military events, which he
executed with customary attention to detail. However, his lasting
influence was as a leader of anecdotal history painting. His precise
technique and stylish subjects set the standard for all other
practitioners of the type, from Fichel to Fortuny and Gérôme.
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