Jean Gabriel Scheffer (1797-1876)
A Nun c.1822-59
Oil on canvas | 65.2 x 54.8 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 403880
-
Head and shoulders of a young nun, facing the spectator, gazing upwards and to the right, with her hands clasped in prayer before her; wearing a nun's habit and veil; grey background
Engraved by Narcisse Lecomte for the Royal Gallery of Art, and for the Art Journal published by Virtue,1859
Jean Gabriel Scheffer (1797-1876), no relation of Ary Scheffer, was born in Geneva. He began his studies in Paris before travelling to Italy where he became friendly with Corot, Théodore Caruelle d'Aligny, and Louis Léopold Robert. He exhibited at the Salon in Paris from 1822 to 1846. He also produced many humorous lithographs; the contemporary manners, customs and costumes of Parisian society are wryly illustrated by twenty one plates in Recueil des Scènes Familiéres, et de Société de Paris, published in Paris, 1824. By 1842 he had returned to Geneva where he remained for the rest of his life, and where he founded an artists' studio for women.Provenance
Purchased by Prince Albert; recorded at Osborne, 1876
-
Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
-
Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
65.2 x 54.8 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
87.7 x 74.9 x 8.3 cm (frame, external)
Alternative title(s)
Head of a Nun