The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 26, 2024

The Death of General Colbert

The Death of General Colbert

c. 1809/1810
(French, 1787–1870)
Unframed: 50 x 61 cm (19 11/16 x 24 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

In 1809, the popular young French military hero General Auguste Colbert died at a battle in Spain. The following year, Schnetz depicted the moment of Colbert's death. This is the study for a much larger painting exhibited at the Paris Salon, but now lost. The exploits of Napoleon and his army were popular subjects for French artists whose work was shown in official exhibitions.
  • Versailles sale, Palais des Congrès, 7 April 1974 (lot 28), La mort d'un général, canvas, 50 x 60 cm, for ff 4,200 to Shepherd Gallery, New York. Bought in November 1976 by Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin, Cleveland. Bequeathed to the CMA in 1980.
  • Argencourt, Louise d', and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 580-583, Vol. II, no. 205
  • Possibly Douai, Musée de la Chartreuse. (1821), no. 358, Une scène militaire (esquisse) (according to Les Salons retrouvés. Eclats de la vie artistique dans la France du Nord 1815-1848, exh. cat., Calais, Musée des Beaux-Arts; Musée de Dunkerque; Douai, Musée de la Chartreuse [1993], 2:160-61).
    Year in Review: 1980. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (June 24-July 19, 1981).
  • {{cite web|title=The Death of General Colbert|url=false|author=Victor Schnetz|year=c. 1809/1810|access-date=26 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1980.285