Updated 16 May 2024
Currently not on display
Currently not on display
Portrait of Clemenceau
| Date | 1889 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | oil on canvas |
| Size（cm） | 90 x 55 |
| Credit Line | Matsukata Collection |
| Standard ref. | Rapetti 339; M208 |
| Category | Paintings |
| Collection Number | P.1959-0029 |
The subject of this portrait, Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929), was a famous statesman of good repute active during the Third Republic. He acted as prime minister during World War I and as a member of the Radical Party. Clemenceau was known for his indomitable fighting spirit which led to the conservative party giving him the appropriate nickname of Tiger. He also was the author of numerous volumes and known as a literary figure enamored of art. He was in close contact with various artists, including the Impressionists, and in addition to Carrière, his portrait was painted by several artists such as Manet (1879) and Rodin (1911). Clemenceau was also well known for his extensive and now dispersed collection of Japanese woodblock prints and decorative arts. Carrière, in addition to his paintings of religious and literary subjects, left many portraits of his close friends. No matter what the subject, he always covered his painting surface with his distinctively mystical, otherworldly sensibility which still had a form of realism at its heart. In these works Carrière's magical color harmonies marvelously and accurately reproduce the sitter's features and beard, while lending a uniquely magical, poetic sensibility to their actual forms. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 95)
Provenance
Purchased by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe through Léonce Bénédite or by himself, ca. November 1921 (Fr. 9,000) [see letter from Léonce Bénédite to Suzuki & Co., dated 22 November 1921, in the Bibliothèque centrale des musées nationaux, Paris (copy in NMWA curatorial file)]; sequestered by French government, 1944; vested in French government under San Francisco Peace Treaty, 1952; transferred from French to Japanese government, 23 January 1959; entered into NMWA, April 1959.
Exhibition History
- 1989
- The Old Matsukata Collection, Kobe City Museum, 14 September 1989 - 26 November 1989, cat. no. 46, col. repr.
- 1997
- Expressiveness of Materials, National Museum of Art, Osaka, 17 April 1997 - 22 June 1997, cat. no. 33
- 2006
- August Rodin / Eugène Carrière, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 7 March 2006 - 4 June 2006, cat. no. 37; Musée d'Orsay, 11 July-1 October 2006, cat. no. 27, col. repr.
- 2013
- Monet, An Eye for Landscapes: Innovation in 19th Century French Landscape Paintings, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 7 December 2013 - 9 March 2014, p. 143, col. repr.
Bibliography
- 1907
- Carrière, Eugène. Ecrits et lettres choisies. Paris, Société Mercure de France, 1907, p. 136.
- 1918
- Geffroy, Gustave. Portraits de Clemenceau. La Renaissance de l’art français et des industries de luxe. 1918, avril, pp. 181-186.
- 1935
- Berryer, Anne-Marie. Eugène Carrière: sa vie, son oeuvre, sa philosophie, son enseignement: suivi du catalogue de ses peintures, mémoire de doctorat de l'université de Bruxelles, Liège, 1935, no. 517.
- 1955
- La Collection Matsukata, Tokyo, Asahi- Shimbun, 1955 (Japanese), no. 42, repr.
- 1961
- Catalogue du Musée National d'Art Occidental, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1961 (Préface and Catalogue Général in Japanese and French), P-40.
- 1966
- Carrière, Jean-René. De la vie d'Eugène Carrière: Souvenirs, lettres, pensées, documents. Toulouse, Edouart Privat, 1966, p. 12.
- 1971
- Les cent chefs-d'œuvre du Musée National d'Art Occidental. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1971 (Japanese), no. 9, repr.
- 1975
- Les cent chefs-d'œuvre du Musée National d'Art Occidental. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1975 (Japanese), no. 59, repr.
- 1978
- Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1978 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 65, repr.
- 1979
- The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: Catalogue of Paintings. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1979, no. 35, repr.
- 1979
- Wormser, Georges. Clemenceau vu de près. Paris, Hachette, 1979, p. 268.
- 1989
- The Old Matsukata Collection (exh. cat.). Kobe City Museum, ed. [Kobe], "Matsukata Collection Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1989, pp. 40, 168-169, cat. no. 46, col. repr.
- 1990
- The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. 352.
- 1992
- The French Modern Art, from The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo (exh. cat.). The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, ed. Okinawa, Urasoe Art Museum, 1992, p.25, cat. no. 15, col. repr
- 1996
- Eugène Carrière, Le peintre et son univers autour de 1900 (exh. cat.). Saint-Cloud, Musée Municipal, 1996, p. 116, no. 148.
- 1996
- O'Brien, David. "Lettres inédites de Carrière". Eugène Carrière (exh. cat.). Strasbourg, Museè de Strasbourg, 1996, p. 66.
- 1998
- Bajou, Valérie. Eugène Carrière: portrait intimiste 1849-1906. Lausanne, Sylvio Acatos, 1998, p. 183, repr.
- 2006
- Auguste Rodin, Eugène Carrière(exh.cat.). Musée d'Orsay. et al., eds. Paris, Flammarion; Musée d'Orsay, 2006, cat. no. 27, col. repr.
- 2006
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2006 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 95, col. repr.
- 2008
- Rapetti, Rodolphe. Eugène Carrière 1849-1906: catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint. Paris, Editions Gallimard, 2008, cat. no. 339, repr.
- 2009
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2009, no. 95, col. repr.
- 2013
- Masterpieces: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2013 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 103, col. repr.
- 2018
- The Matsukata Collection: Complete Catalogue of the European Art. Kawaguchi, Masako; Jingaoka, Megumi, eds. vol. 1: Paintings, Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2018, cat. no. 208, col. repr.