The Greyhounds

Artist Adolphe Joseph Thomas Monticelli (French, 1824-1886)

Place of OriginFrance

Dateabout 1871-1872

DimensionsH: 14 7/8 in. (37.7 cm); W: 21 1/2 in. (54.1 cm)

MediumOil on wood panel

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LineGift of Arthur J. Secor

Object number

1933.24

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 32

Label TextAdolphe 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.”Published ReferencesArnaud d'Agnel, G., and E. Isnard, Monticelli, sa vie et son oeuvre, Paris, 1926, pl. XXXII.

Godwin, Blake-More, Catalogue of European Paintings, Toledo, 1939, p. 208, repr. p. 209.

Phillips, D., "A Niche for Monticelli," Art News, LIII, Dec. 1954, p. 23, repr. p. 65.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, p. 114, pl. 270.

Sheon, Aaron, Monticelli: His Contemporaries, His Influence, Pittsburgh, 1978, p. 77, repr. plate 141.

Broun, Elizabeth, Albert Pinkham Ryder, Washington, 1989, pp. 61, 313, fig. 57.

Exhibition HistoryNew York, Paul Rosenberg, Loan Exhibition of Paintings by Adolphe Monticelli, 1954, no. 8, repr.

Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts, Monticelli, 1955, no. 12.

The Museum of Fine Arts of Houston, Corot and His Contemporaries, 1959.