Portrait of Clemenceau|Eugène Carrière |Search Collection

Updated 07 March 2023

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Eugène Carrière

Gournay, 1849 - Paris, 1906

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

1960: The Masterpieces of the Ex-Matsukata Collection, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 14 May 1960 - 10 July 1960, cat. no. 7
1962: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Hakutsuru Museum, Kobe, 20 October 1962 - 5 November 1962, P-040
1962: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Art Gallery of Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya, 17 November 1962 - 9 December 1962, cat. no. 7 (当館記録による）
1963: The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Shimane Prefectural Museum, Matsue, 5 October 1963 - 20 October 1963, P-040
1963: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Ishibashi Museum of Art, Kurume, 26 October 1963 - 10 November 1963, P-040
1975: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Yamagata Museum, Yamagata, 1 November 1975 - 30 November 1975, cat. no. 7
1977: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Nara Prefectural Museum, Nara, 15 October 1977 - 13 November 1977, cat. no. 39
1978: [Tour Exhibition] Masterpieces from the National Museum of Western Art, The Art Center of Oita Prefecture, Oita, 20 December 1978 - 31 January 1979, cat. no. 37
1989: The Old Matsukata Collection, Kobe City Museum, 14 September 1989 - 26 November 1989, cat. no. 46, col. repr.
1990: [Tour Exhibition] The French Modern Art, from the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Ibara Municipal Denchu Art Museum, 10 April 1990 - 23 April 1990, cat. no. 15
1990: [Tour Exhibition] The French Modern Art, from the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, The Cultural Center of Kagawa Prefecture, Takamatsu, 28 April 1990 - 13 May 1990, cat. no. 15
1990: [Tour Exhibition] The French Modern Art, from the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, The Cultural Center of Toyota City, 19 May 1990 - 3 June 1990, cat. no. 15
1991: [Tour Exhibition] The French Modern Art, from the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, The Hachinohe City Museum of Art, 28 September 1991 - 27 October 1991, cat. no. 15
1991: [Tour Exhibition] The French Modern Art, from the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, The Tendo City Museum of Art, Tendo, 1 November 1991 - 24 November 1991, cat. no. 15
1992: [Tour Exhibition] The French Modern Art, from the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, The Urasoe Art Museum, 3 November 1992 - 7 December 1992, cat. no. 15
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.
1990: The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. 352.
1996: O'Brien, David. "Lettres inédites de Carrière". Eugène Carrière (exh. cat.). Strasbourg, Museè de Strasbourg, 1996, p. 66.
1996: Eugène Carrière, Le peintre et son univers autour de 1900 (exh. cat.). Saint-Cloud, Musée Municipal, 1996, p. 116, no. 148.
1998: Bajou, Valérie. Eugène Carrière: portrait intimiste 1849-1906. Lausanne, Sylvio Acatos, 1998, p. 183, 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.

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