Jean-Léon Gérôme
The Dandy (Muscadin)
1878
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, 13 x 9 1/2 in. (33 x 24.1 cm.)
Credit Line
The George A. Lucas Collection, purchased with funds from the State of Maryland, Laurence and Stella Bendann Fund, and contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations throughout the Baltimore community
Object Number
1996.45.112
The arrogant looking man posed on the street is a muscadin, the name
given to supporters of the Monarchy whose fortunes rose with the
defeat of Napoleon I and the subsequent return of royal rule to France
in 1815. Known for their foppish dress and use of musk as a perfume,
the muscadins became subjects of ridicule later in the century.
Gérôme, a staunch supporter of the academic tradition, emphasized
the role of drawing in creating a work of art. He also favored smooth
surfaces, suppressing evidence of brushstrokes, and recording the
various elements of his compositions in almost photographic detail.
Gérôme is remembered for his masterly narrative works, many
dealing with Orientalist themes, and for his violent opposition
to Impressionism.
It has been said of Gérôme that he saw the picture finished before he
touched his canvas. This provision is a rare and precious gift; it sometimes
inspires the artist with too much confidence; it often excludes the benefits
of reflection and of feeling the way; but it assures the work and lends to
the hand a security which fears not the treasons of retouching.
–Charles Timbal, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, October 1876
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1996; The Maryland Institute College of Art,
through Henry Walters, Baltimore, by bequest 1909; from George A. Lucas, Paris
through Henry Walters, Baltimore, by bequest 1909; from George A. Lucas, Paris
The Maryland Institute, Baltimore, "Exhibition of the George A. Lucas Art Collection", 1911.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A Century of Baltimore Collecting 1840 - 1940", 1941.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "From Ingres to Gauguin", November 13-December 30, 1951.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute", October 12-November 21, 1965.
Herron Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, "Jewelry and Finery", February 18-March 26, 1967.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Nineteenth Century European Painting", June 24-September 7, 1969.
The Maryland Institute, Baltimore, March 18, 1970.
The Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH, "Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904): Paintings and Drawings", November 10-December 31, 1972; circulated to Minneapolis Institute of Arts, January 26-March 11, 1973; Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, April 6-May 20, 1973.
Shepherd Gallery, New York, NY, "Ingres and Delacroix through Degas and Puvis de Chavannes - The Figure in French Art, 1800 to 1870", May 7-June 28, 1975.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The Lucas Collection", June 27-Fall 1974.
Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL, "Paris in the Belle Epoque: People and Places", March 1-Apr. 6, 1980.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Parallels and Precedents, The George A. Lucas Collection in Context", August 23-October 15, 1995.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection: Maryland's Treasure", circulated to Government House, Annapolis, January 6-April 21, 1997; Academy of the Arts, Easton, January 31-March 7, 1998; and Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, July 26-September 27, 1998.
Sona Johnston, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A View Toward Paris: The Lucas Collection of 19th-Century French Art", October 1, 2006-December 31, 2006.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A Century of Baltimore Collecting 1840 - 1940", 1941.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "From Ingres to Gauguin", November 13-December 30, 1951.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute", October 12-November 21, 1965.
Herron Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, "Jewelry and Finery", February 18-March 26, 1967.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Nineteenth Century European Painting", June 24-September 7, 1969.
The Maryland Institute, Baltimore, March 18, 1970.
The Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH, "Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904): Paintings and Drawings", November 10-December 31, 1972; circulated to Minneapolis Institute of Arts, January 26-March 11, 1973; Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, April 6-May 20, 1973.
Shepherd Gallery, New York, NY, "Ingres and Delacroix through Degas and Puvis de Chavannes - The Figure in French Art, 1800 to 1870", May 7-June 28, 1975.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The Lucas Collection", June 27-Fall 1974.
Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL, "Paris in the Belle Epoque: People and Places", March 1-Apr. 6, 1980.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Parallels and Precedents, The George A. Lucas Collection in Context", August 23-October 15, 1995.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection: Maryland's Treasure", circulated to Government House, Annapolis, January 6-April 21, 1997; Academy of the Arts, Easton, January 31-March 7, 1998; and Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, July 26-September 27, 1998.
Sona Johnston, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A View Toward Paris: The Lucas Collection of 19th-Century French Art", October 1, 2006-December 31, 2006.
"Exhibition of the George A. Lucas Art Collection," Baltimore: The Maryland Institute, 1911, cat. #252.
"A Century of Baltimore Collecting 1840 - 1940," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1941, p. 41.
"From Ingres to Gauguin,"' Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1951, cat. #87.
"The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1965, cat. #112, ill. p. 40.
"Jewelry and Finery," Indianapolis: Herron Museum of Art, 1967, cat. #38.
"The Lucas Collection," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1974, cat. #112.
Inscribed: FACE: R, below C, (brown paint), 'J.L.GEROME.'. VERSO, BACKING: UC, BMA label; C, (typed gallery label now in mylar), 'Shepherd Gallery Associates 21 East 84th Street, New York 10028..UN 1-4050, 'GEROME # 109/Exhibition:/Ingres & Delacroix through Degas & Puvis de/Chavannes: The Figure in French Art 1800-1870,'/SG, May 20 - June 28, 1975, Cat. no. 109 (p.261),/ill. p. 262'. VERSO, FRAME: T, R of C, (pencil), 'D738'
