Detail View: The AMICA Library: La mort de Général Colbert

AMICA ID: 
CMA_.1980.285
AMICA Library Year: 
2001
Object Type: 
Paintings
Creator Name: 
Schnetz, Jean Victor
Creator Nationality: 
European; French
Creator Role: 
artist
Creator Dates/Places: 
1787 - 1870
Biography: 
Schnetz began exhibiting at the Salon of 1808 and continued to do so on a regular basis until 1867. According to the Salon catalogue of 1810, he was a student of Jean-Baptiste Regnault (1754-1829), a painter of mythological scenes. Two years later he entered the studio of David (q.v.). He also studied with Baron François Gérard (1770-1837) and Gros (q.v.), both former pupils of David. Schnetz traveled to Italy in 1817, where he remained until 1832. During this sojourn he often painted scenes representing Italian peasants, sending them periodically to the Salon. In 1819 he received a gold medal at the Salon for history painting, an achievement that would mark the beginning of his successful career. Schnetz received numerous commissions for public buildings, including St. Martin Cutting His Cloak to Give Half to a Beggar (1824) for the Tours cathedral, Charlemagne Receiving Alcuin (1833) for a ceiling at the Louvre, and The Battle at the Hôtel de Ville (1834, destroyed) for the Hôtel de Ville in Paris. Upon his return to France, Schnetz became director of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, a position he held until 1841. He also served as the director of the Académie de France in Rome from 1841 until 1847 and again from 1853 to 1866. Through his position at these institutions he was able to influence the development of academic training for many years.
Gender: 
M
Creator Birth Place: 
Versailles, 14 April 1787
Creator Death Place: 
Paris, 16 March 1870
Creator Name-CRT: 
Victor Schnetz
Title: 
The Death of General Colbert
Title Type: 
Primary
Title: 
La mort de Général Colbert
Title Type: 
Foreign
View: 
Full View
Creation Date: 
c. 1809/1810
Creation Start Date: 
1809
Creation End Date: 
1810
Materials and Techniques: 
oil on fabric
Dimensions: 
Unframed: 50cm x 61cm
AMICA Contributor: 
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location: 
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number: 
1980.285
Credit Line: 
Bequest of Noah L. Butkin
Rights: 
Provenance: 
Versailles sale, Palais des Congrès, 7 April 1974 (lot 28), La mort d'un général, canvas, 50 x 60 cm, for ff 4,200 to Shepherd Gallery, New York. Bought in November 1976 by Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin, Cleveland. Bequeathed to the CMA in 1980.
Context: 
In 1809, the popular young French military hero General Auguste Colbert died at a battle in Spain. The following year, Schnetz depicted the moment of Colbert's death. This is the study for a much larger painting exhibited at the Paris Salon, but now lost. The exploits of Napoleon and his army were popular subjects for French artists whose work was shown in official exhibitions.
Related Image Identifier Link: 
CMA_.1980.285.TIF