The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 29, 2023

Portrait of a Woman

c. 1891

Edmond François Aman-Jean

(French, 1858–1936)

France, 19th century

Oil on fabric

Framed: 113.4 x 117.8 x 8.3 cm (44 5/8 x 46 3/8 x 3 1/4 in.); Unframed: 84.4 x 89.5 cm (33 1/4 x 35 1/4 in.)

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1972.120

Location

221 19th Century Decorative Arts

Description

Aman-Jean, a French Symbolist painter, was likely more concerned with evoking a wistful, meditative mood in this painting of an unidentified woman than with defining a specific personality or likeness. The restrained, tonal palette and flat, decorative shapes suggest the influence of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and James McNeill Whistler. The postcard pinned to the wall may represent a work by Sandro Botticelli. Aman-Jean exhibited this painting at the Paris Salon of 1891.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signed left center in green: Aman Jean

Edmond François Aman-Jean

In 1880 Aman-Jean entered the Paris École des Beaux-Arts where he studied under the history and portrait painter Henri Lehmann (1814-1882). He would later share a studio with his close friend Seurat (q.v.). Aman-Jean also studied in the Louvre and after 1883 was advised by Puvis de Chavannes (q.v.). After receiving a stipend in 1885, he traveled to Rome the following year together with Ernest Laurent (1859-1929) and Henri Martin (1860-1943). Already an admirer of Goncourt and Flaubert, Aman-Jean began to associate with the Symbolist poets, including Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Verlaine, and Philippe-Auguste Villiers de l'Isle Adam. Aman-Jean created delicate, languorous portraits of women, often recalling the works of the English Pre-Raphaelites. In 1885 Aman-Jean began exhibiting regularly at the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français and later with the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts where he was also a member of the jury. In 1892 and 1893 he showed at the Salons de la Rose + Croix, organized by artists interested in mystical Catholi-cism. These exhibitions were open to all arts. During his later years, Aman-Jean was influenced by Bonnard (q.v.), a member of the Nabis. Besides producing oil paintings, Aman-Jean was also a prolific pastellist and printmaker.
Provenance
1891
(Paris salon, 1891, no. 874 or 875, probably sold to a private collector) 1
Probably from 1891
Possibly a private collector, probably sold to an Italian private collector.
After 1891
Private collector, Italy, by descent to his family 2
Before 1971
Family of an Italian collector, possibly consigned to Christie's 3
1971
(Christie's, London, sale, July 9, 1971, lot 258, sold to Ferrers Gallery 4
1971-1971/1972
(Ferrers Gallery, London, probably sold to Cyril Humphris) 5
Until 1972
(Cyril Humphris, London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1972-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio

Provenance Footnotes

1 The consignor of the painting to the sale at Christie’s in 1971 believed that it had been purchased directly from the artist, quite possibly at the Salon of 1891. The painting’s original frame is inscribed with “Salon de 1891,” and its presence is confirmed in a contemporary descriptive account of exhibited Aman-Jean paintings at the Salon: “Combien je préfère…les deux portraits de M. Aman Jean! Celui surtout de la jeune femme en noir, qui tient un bouquet de clématites, est d’une mélancolie communicative, d’un deuil attendrissant qui le gravent dans le souvenir, d’autant plus que le sentiment sincere et profound en est sontenu par un arrangement des couleurs, dans la gamme des tons de deuil, très habile et très soigné.” However, because both nos. 874 and 875 in the exhibition catalogue are titled “Portrait” and neither is reproduced, either may be the CMA painting.
2 Christie’s files indicate that an “Italian gentleman” purchased the painting from someone, probably a private co
3 The correspondence concerning this painting's provenance prior to the 1971 Christie's sale is somewhat unclear in its description of the chain of ownership. It seems that the Aman-Jean was likely consigned to Christie's by a descendent of the Italian collector who acquired the painting in the late ninteenth century; however, it is also possible that an unidentified collector was the consignor and should follow the Italian family in the provenance.
4 In the auction catalogue, the painting is titled “Meditation.”
5 The price list for the July 9, 1971 Christie's sale notes that Ferrers Gallery was the buyer of the Aman-Jean painting.
Citations
Christie, Manson & Woods. Impressionist and Modern Drawings, Paintings and Sculpture. June 9, 1971.
Christie, Manson & Woods. Impressionist and Modern Drawings, Paintings and Sculpture. June 9, 1971.
Patrick Lindsay, letter to Sherman Lee, Jan. 3, 1973, in CMA curatorial file.
Patrick Lindsay, letter to Sherman Lee, Jan. 3, 1973, in CMA curatorial file
Patrick Lindsay, letter to Sherman Lee, Jan. 3, 1973, in CMA curatorial file.
Patrick Lindsay, letter to Sherman Lee, Jan. 3, 1973, in CMA curatorial file.
“Les Salons de 1891,” Gazette des Beaux-Arts 5 (June 1891): 468.
Catalogue illustré de peinture et sculpture: Salon de 1891. Paris: L. Baschet, 1891.
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 217 archive.org
Argencourt, Louise d', and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 8-11, Vol. I, no. 3
Exhibition history

Paris, Palais des Champs-Élysées. Salon (1891), jean (a.-e.), no. 874, h.c.[Hors Concours] Portrait; or no. 875, Portrait.

CMA (organizer). Beijing World Art Museum, China, May 26 - Aug. 27, 2006; Mori Arts Center, Tokyo, Japan: Sept. 9 - Nov. 26, 2006; Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea: Dec. 18, 2006 - March 31, 2007; Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea: Apr. 7 - May 20, 2007; Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia: June 9 - Sept. 16, 2007; Cleveland Musuem of Art, Oct. 2007- January 2008 and the Frist Center, Nashville, TN, Feb. 21-June 1, 2008: "Modern Masters from the Cleveland Musuem of Art"

CMA (organizer). Beijing World Art Museum, China, May 26 - Aug. 27, 2006; Mori Arts Center, Tokyo, Japan: Sept. 9 - Nov. 26, 2006; Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea: Dec. 18, 2006 - March 31, 2007; Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea: Apr. 7 - May 20, 2007; Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: June 9 - Sept. 16, 2007; Cleveland Museum of Art, Oct. 21, 2007- January 13, 2008; Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN, Feb. 21-June 1, 2008; Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT, June 22 - September 21, 2008; and the Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, October 12, 2008 - January 18, 2009: "Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art"

Year in Review: 1972. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 27-March 18, 1973).

Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Beijing World Art Museum, China (May 26-August 27, 2006); Mori Art Center (September 16-November 26, 2006); Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007); Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1972.120