The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 13, 2024

The Fox and the Turkey Hens

The Fox and the Turkey Hens

1733
(French, 1686–1755)
France, 18th century
brush and black ink and gray wash heightened with white gouache, blue ink in margin; framing lines in brown ink
Image: 24 x 18.8 cm (9 7/16 x 7 3/8 in.); Sheet: 31 x 26 cm (12 3/16 x 10 1/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1977.93
Location: 101B Prints & Drawings

Did You Know?

The most recent edition of La Fontaine’s Fables illustrated by Oudry was a colored version produced in 2007 by Editions Diane de Selliers.

Description

This drawing depicts a fable about turkeys whose anxieties about falling victim to a fox ultimately make them susceptible to the predator. It was one of 276 designs produced by Jean-Baptiste Oudry related to humorous but educational stories compiled by French poet Jean de La Fontaine in the later 1600s. Published in four luxurious volumes between 1755 and 1759, The Fables of La Fontaine withOudry’s illustrations was one of the most ambitious publishing projects of the artist’s time. The books were art objects meant to be collected more than read, but they were successful enough that they were reissued several times in later centuries.
  • collection of the artist
    c. 1751
    Montenault
    by 1828
    the bothers De Bure
    1853
    [sale of J.-J. De Bure, 1853, no. 344]
    Adolphe Thibaudeau
    [Solar sale, 1860, no. 627]
    c. 1876
    Morgand, Paris
    M. Roederer, Reims
    c. 1930
    Rosenbach, New York
    Private collection, New York
    all according to Opperman 1977, p. 683: collection of the artist; c. 1751sold to Montenault (not in Lugt). the bothers De Bure, by 1828 (not in Lugt); [sale of J.-J. De Bure, 1853, no. 344] (no sale listed by Lugt); Adolphe Thibaudeau (no article in Lugt, but see under 2473). [Solar sale, 1860, no. 627] (sale not cited by Lugt). Morgand, Paris, c. 1876 (not in Lugt); M. Roederer, Reims (not in Lugt); Rosenbach, New York, c. 1930 (not in Lugt); Private collection, New York. [Claus Virch]
  • Montañés-Lleras, Susana. “Fairy Tales and Fables" The transformation of illustration in the long 19th century.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 64, no. 1 (2024): 10-11. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 10.
  • Fairy Tales and Fables: Illustration and Storytelling in Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 4-September 8, 2024).
    French Drawings from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 13, 1994-March 12, 1995).
    Nocturnal Impressions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 20-May 12, 1985).
    Paper: The Continuous Thread. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 31-October 24, 1982).
    French Prints and Drawings in the Age of the Bourbons, 1589-1792. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 2-May 16, 1982).
    Brush Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 3-May 10, 1981).
    17th and 18th Century Genre and French Drawings, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (May 31-August 19, 1979).
    Year in Review: 1977. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978).
  • {{cite web|title=The Fox and the Turkey Hens|url=false|author=Jean-Baptiste Oudry|year=1733|access-date=13 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1977.93