The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 26, 2024

Tannhäuser

Tannhäuser

1886
(French, 1836–1904)
Framed: 123.5 x 139.5 x 14 cm (48 5/8 x 54 15/16 x 5 1/2 in.); Unframed: 86.4 x 103.3 cm (34 x 40 11/16 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

As he will eventually return to reality, Tannhäuser, the singer in the lower left, is painted in dark tones. In contrast, his vision into another realm is evoked by the soft muted hues of Venus and her court.

Description

Tannhäuser, the male figure seated on the left, does not seem fully engaged in this merry scene. Among pale bodies and pastel hues, he alone is cast in shadow. The Wagner opera that inspired the painting centers on a struggle between profane and sacred love, and the tension between them appears embodied in the brooding Tannhäuser.
  • 1890
    Bought from the artist by Durand-Ruel, Paris, France, February 21, 1890 (stock number 2636),
    1890
    Sold to Durand-Ruel, New York, NY, March 6, 1890 (stock number 1000)
    1890-1891
    (Durand-Ruel, New York, NY, January 4, 1891, sold to J. H. Wade)
    1891-1916
    Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Wade, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Illustrated Catalogue of the Liverpool Corporation Autumn Exhibition of Pictures at the Walker Art Gallery, 1888. Liverpool, United Kingdom: D. Marples, 1888. Mentioned: p. 36
    Jullien, Adolphe. Fantin-Latour, sa vie et ses amitiés; lettres inédites et souvenirs personnels, avec cinquante-trois reproductions d'œuvres du maitre, tirées a part, six autographes et vingt-deux illustrations dans le texte. Paris, France: L. Laveur, 1909. Reproduced: p. 54; Mentioned p. 205
    Fantin-Latour, Victoria. Catalogue de l'œuvre complet (1849-1904) de Fantin-Latour, établi et rédigé. Paris: H. Floury, 1911. Mentioned: P. 130, no. 1254
    Warner, Langdon. "The Wade Collection." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art IV, no. 1 (January, 1917): 3-8. Mentioned: p. 3; Reproduced: p. 11
    "The Wade Collection." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 4, no. 1 (1917): 3-12. Mentioned: p. 3; reproduced: p. 7 www.jstor.org
    McK., W. McC. "Fantin-Latour Lithographs." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 7, no. 9 (1920): 135-38. Mentioned: p. 136 www.jstor.org
    Gibson, Frank F. The Art of Henri Fantin-Latour: His Life and Work. London, United Kingdom: Drane's Ltd, 1924. Reproduced: p. 65; Mentioned: p. 212-213
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925. Reproduced: p. 29 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928. Reproduced: p. 36 archive.org
    Coe, Nancy. The History of the Collecting of European Paintings and Drawings in the City of Cleveland. Thesis M.A. Oberlin College,1955. Reproduced: V. 2, P. 251
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 500 archive.org
    Curry, Larry. "Henri Fantin-Latour's Tannhauser on Venusberg." Bulletin/Los Angeles County Museum of Art XVI, no. 1 (1964): 3-19. Mentioned and reproduced: P.16-18
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 171 archive.org
    Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition, 1915-1965. Minneapolis, MN: Minneapolis Institute of Arts,1966. Reproduced: no. 23
    Henri Fantin-Latour, 1836-1904; An Exhibition. Northhampton, MA: Smith College, 1966. Reproduced: no. 21
    Trapp, Frank Anderson. "Fantin-Latour at Smith College." The Burlington Magazine 108, no. 760 (July 1966): 393-94. Reproduced: P. 394, fig. 80 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 171 archive.org
    Druick, Douglas W. and Michel Hoog. Fantin-Latour: Exhibition. Ottawa, Ontario: National Gallery of Canada, 1983. Reproduced: p. 278
    Wardius, Janine N. "Fantin-Latour's Tannhauser Unveiled: The Previous State of the Painting as Revealed by Infrared Photography." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art LXXVI, no.10 (October, 1989): 280-291. Reproduced: p. 208
    Chong, Alan. European & American Painting in the Cleveland Museum of Art: A Summary Catalogue. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1993. Reproduced: P.74
    D'Argencourt, Louise and Roger Diederen. The Cleveland Museum of Art: Catalogue of Paintings, Part Four; European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999. Reproduced: p. 98
    Sérié, Pierre, Bruno Foucart, and Peter Cooke. La Peinture d'Histoire en France, 1860-1900: La Lyre Ou le Poignard. Paris, France: Arthena Editions, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 423-424
  • Paul Gauguin: Paris, 1889. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 4, 2009-January 18, 2010); Van Gogh Museum, 1070 AJ Amsterdam, Netherlands (February 18-June 6, 2010).
    Richard Wagner: Visions d'artistes. D'Auguste Renoir à Anselm Kiefer. Musée Rath, Geneva, Switzerland (September 22, 2005-January 29, 2006).
    Salon. Palais des Champs-Élysées, Paris, France. (1886).
    Liverpool Autumn Exhibition. Walker Art Gallery Liverpool, United Kingdom (1888).
    Exposition Universelle Internationale de 1889. Paris, France (1889).
    World's Columbian Exposition. Chicago, IL. (1893).
    Henri Fantin-Latour. Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA (organizer) (April 28-June 6, 1966).
    Fifteenth Anniversary Exhibition. Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN (organizer) (November 4, 1965-January 2, 1966).
    The Venetian Tradition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 8, 1956-January 1, 1957).
    19th and 20th Century French Art and Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Loans. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-September 1, 1943).
    French Drawings and Watercolors from French Public and Private Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 6-February 15, 1942).
    The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).
    The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936).
    The Cleveland Art Loan Exposition under the Auspices of the Cleveland School of Art. Kinney and Levan Building, Cleveland, OH (1913).
  • {{cite web|title=Tannhäuser|url=false|author=Henri Fantin-Latour|year=1886|access-date=26 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1038