The Greyhounds
Artist: Adolphe Joseph Thomas Monticelli (French, 1824-1886)
Date: about 1871-1872
Dimensions:
H: 14 7/8 in. (37.7 cm); W: 21 1/2 in. (54.1 cm)
Medium: Oil on wood panel
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Gift of Arthur J. Secor
Object number: 1933.24
Label Text:Adolphe Monticelli was a great admirer of 18th-century painter Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), particularly of his fêtes galantes—scenes of elegantly attired young people congregating in garden settings. Using a thick application of paint in a style that obscures details, Monticelli created his own versions of Watteau’s images.
Monticelli’s extreme experimentation with color, brushwork, and paint texture provoked some critics and collectors to proclaim him insane—derision he took in stride. This spontaneity and innovation can be seen in The Greyhounds through the artist’s rough and heavy handling of paint; and also through the warm yellows that distinguish the characters from the dark, wooded landscape. Although Monticelli was not famous in his day, he became an inspiration to Vincent van Gogh, who mused, “Sometimes I think I really am a continuation of that man.”
Monticelli’s extreme experimentation with color, brushwork, and paint texture provoked some critics and collectors to proclaim him insane—derision he took in stride. This spontaneity and innovation can be seen in The Greyhounds through the artist’s rough and heavy handling of paint; and also through the warm yellows that distinguish the characters from the dark, wooded landscape. Although Monticelli was not famous in his day, he became an inspiration to Vincent van Gogh, who mused, “Sometimes I think I really am a continuation of that man.”
On view
In Collection(s)