Image source: metmuseum.org
The Bouquet of Violets
Artist:Eva Gonzales
| Support Type: | Paper |
| Paint Type: | Pastel |
| Current Location: | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
| Location History: | After the artist’s death, the painting passed to her widower, Henri Guerard, who owned it in Paris until he died in 1897. It then went to Jeanne Guerard-Gonzales, who was both the artist’s sister and Henri Guerard’s second wife, starting in 1897. From her, it passed to the artist’s son, Jean-Raymond Guerard, who owned it in Paris from at least 1924 into the late 1960s. Later, the London dealer David Carritt Limited had it until 1979, selling it under the title “Jeanne with a Bouquet of Violets” to the Paul Rosenberg gallery in New York. Rosenberg held onto it until 1983, when it was sold to the dealers Noortman & Brod, who then sold it that same year to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman. After Charles Wrightsman died in 1986, his wife kept the piece until her own death in 2019, at which point it entered the Met’s collection through her bequest. |
Eva Gonzalès’s *The Bouquet of Violets*, created around 1877–78, is an intimate pastel portraying a woman arranging violets in a small blue vase. The model was probably Gonzalès’s younger sister Jeanne, who frequently appeared in the artist’s scenes of domestic life. The work reflects Gonzalès’s interest in portraying the quiet routines of middle-class women during the nineteenth century. Her artistic relationship with Édouard Manet influenced her use of color and pastel, while she developed a distinctive style of her own. The painting’s soft pink, gray, and blue tones, graceful brushwork, silky gown, and delicate flowers create a peaceful and sensory atmosphere.
Information Compiled by
Asmita Kakati