The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

Study of a Plant, Possibly Thistle

Study of a Plant, Possibly Thistle

1862
(French, 1834–1866)
France, 19th century
Watercolor and pen and brown ink with white heightening
Sheet: 25.3 x 29.5 cm (9 15/16 x 11 5/8 in.); Secondary Support: 25.3 x 29.5 cm (9 15/16 x 11 5/8 in.)
Bequest of Noah L. Butkin 1980.236
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This watercolor was made after the year of Léon Bonvin's marriage, a time when he was increasingly trying to make a living from his art.

Description

Neglected within his own time, the watercolors of Bonvin have only come to be fully appreciated in the late 20th century. An artist with little formal training, Bonvin earned a living working in his family’s inn in Vaugirard, on the outskirts of Paris. The landscape near his home and studies of the inn’s garden became his themes.
  • Guichané, Maud, Gabriel P. Weisberg, Léon Bonvin, Jo Briggs, Ger Luijten, and Michèle Quentin. Drawn to the Everyday: Léon Bonvin 1834-1866 : Catalogue Raisonné. Paris : Fondation Custodia, 2022. Reproduced: p. 138, no. 36; mentioned: p. 230, no. 36
  • Nature Sublime: Landscapes from the 19th Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 15-November 14, 2004).
    Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; 8/15/04-11/14/04. "Nature Sublime: Landscapes from the 19th Century". No exhibition catalogue.
    French Drawings from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 13, 1994-March 12, 1995).
    CMA, French Drawings from the Collection (Dec. 13, 1994-Mar. 12, 1995).
    Year in Review: 1980. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (June 24-July 19, 1981).
    CMA, Year in Review for 1980 (June 24-July 19, 1981), cma Bulletin 68 (1981), p. 215 no. 179, illus. p. 181.
    CMA; Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, The Drawings and Watercolors of Léon Bonvin (Nov. 12, 1980-Jan. 18, 1981; Feb. 15-Mar. 27, 1981), no. 9, illus. p. 32.
  • {{cite web|title=Study of a Plant, Possibly Thistle|url=false|author=Léon Bonvin|year=1862|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1980.236