The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Portrait of Violinist Jean Vidal (1789–1867)

Portrait of Violinist Jean Vidal (1789–1867)

1808
(French, 1787–1854)
Image: 75.4 x 54.1 cm (29 11/16 x 21 5/16 in.); Sheet with border: 91.5 x 64.4 cm (36 x 25 3/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Reflecting its personal significance to the sitter, this drawing stayed in the violinist’s family for generations.

Description

This portrait is the most finished known work by Adrien Victor Auger, who broke from the idealized forms and historical subjects promoted by his teacher, Jacques-Louis David (whose work is nearby). In this drawing, Auger referenced contemporary Parisian cultural life, depicting the accomplished musician Jean Vidal as he embarked on an illustrious career in violin performance. Vidal is fashionably attired and gazes dreamily, signifying his modernity and artistic temperament. Auger rendered the violinist’s likeness with great detail and realism—including his slumping stockings and smooth shirt collar—by varying the density of repeated chalk marks and highlighting the paper’s tan tone with touches of white.
  • 1854-?
    Family of the artist, by descent
    ?-?
    (Galerie J. Kugel, Paris)
    by 2006-2012
    (Thomas Le Claire, Hamburg)
    2012-2013
    (W. M. Brady & Co., New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)
    2013-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Master Drawings: 1530–1920. New York: W. M. Brady & Co., 2012. Mentioned and reproduced: no. 28
  • Nineteenth-Century French Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 20-April 30, 2023).
    Themes and Variations: Musical Drawings and Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 25-May 17, 2015).
    Master Drawings: 1530–1920. W. M. Brady & Co., New York (January 24–February 3, 2012).
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of Violinist Jean Vidal (1789–1867)|url=false|author=Adrien Victor Auger|year=1808|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.47