Death of a Pilgrim

Artist Felix-Joseph Barrias (French, 1822-1907)

Date1887

DimensionsH: 25 5/8 in. (65.1 cm); W: 40 1/8 in. (101.9 cm)

MediumOil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1977.38

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 33

Label TextThe ominous presence of carrion crows leads our eye to the young pilgrim who has just died in the doorway of a shrine in the bleak winter landscape of the Roman countryside. Félix-Joseph Barrias, who gave Edgar Degas his early artistic training, was best known for his murals and large canvases of historical, mythological, or medieval subjects. This quietly disturbing meditation on death and faith shows a more intimate, personal aspect of his painting.Published References"La chronique des arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 91, no. 1310, March 1978, p. 96.Exhibition HistoryParis, Salon, 1887, no. 117. (The full title in the catalogue is La mort du pélerin; campagne de Rome l'hiver).

Toledo Museum of Art, What’s Wrong with Me? Art and Disease, April 22-August 7, 2011, (UT Student exhibition).