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Source Description
This portrait is the most finished known work by Adrien Victor Auger, who broke from the idealized forms and historical subjects promoted by his teacher, Jacques-Louis David (whose work is nearby). In this drawing, Auger referenced contemporary Parisian cultural life, depicting the accomplished musician Jean Vidal as he embarked on an illustrious career in violin performance. Vidal is fashionably attired and gazes dreamily, signifying his modernity and artistic temperament. Auger rendered the violinist’s likeness with great detail and realism—including his slumping stockings and smooth shirt collar—by varying the density of repeated chalk marks and highlighting the paper’s tan tone with touches of white.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
171051
label
Portrait of Violinist Jean Vidal (1789–1867)
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
171051
contentType
drawing
title
Portrait of Violinist Jean Vidal (1789–1867)
description
This portrait is the most finished known work by Adrien Victor Auger, who broke from the idealized forms and historical subjects promoted by his teacher, Jacques-Louis David (whose work is nearby). In this drawing, Auger referenced contemporary Parisian cultural life, depicting the accomplished musician Jean Vidal as he embarked on an illustrious career in violin performance. Vidal is fashionably attired and gazes dreamily, signifying his modernity and artistic temperament. Auger rendered the violinist’s likeness with great detail and realism—including his slumping stockings and smooth shirt collar—by varying the density of repeated chalk marks and highlighting the paper’s tan tone with touches of white.
date
1808
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80080725
creators
63548
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Image: 75.4 x 54.1 cm (29 11/16 x 21 5/16 in.); Sheet with border: 91.5 x 64.4 cm (36 x 25 3/8 in.)
cul
France, 19th century
accession
2013.47
Source extras
tec
black and gray chalk, with touches of white chalk, on tan wove paper
tombstone
Portrait of Violinist Jean Vidal (1789–1867), 1808. Adrien Victor Auger (French, 1787–1854). Black and gray chalk, with touches of white chalk, on tan wove paper; image: 75.4 x 54.1 cm (29 11/16 x 21 5/16 in.); sheet with border: 91.5 x 64.4 cm (36 x 25 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 2013.47
supportMaterials
description
wove paper
collection
DR - French
inscriptions
inscription
inscribed, bottom left, in pen and brown ink: Victor Auger, Elève de David, fecit; bottom right, in pen and brown ink: anno 1808; watermark, upper left: WHATMAN / 1801
didYouKnow
Reflecting its personal significance to the sitter, this drawing stayed in the violinist’s family for generations.
citations
citation
<em>Master Drawings: 1530–1920</em>. New York: W. M. Brady & Co., 2012.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: no. 28
citation
Lemonedes, Heather. “2013 Acquisitions: Drawings.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em> 54, no. 2 (March/April 2014): 18.
page_number
Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 18
citation
Lemonedes, Heather. “Themes and Variations: Works on paper from the museum's collection with a musical motif.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em> 55, no. 1 (January/February 2015): Cover, 4-5.
page_number
Reproduced: Cover; Mentioned: p. 2
citation
Salsbury, Britany. <em>Nineteenth-Century French Drawings: The Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Lewes, UK, Cleveland, Ohio: GILES; Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 74-75, no. 3
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:47:30.426000
sourceId
171051
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - French
med
black and gray chalk, with touches of white chalk, on tan wove paper
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
a5dd5cb5bf2f5af7