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Source Description

Baltimore artist Alfred Jacob Miller is known primarily for his paintings of the American West, but his interests extended beyond this subject. A prolific sketcher, he filled many journals with drawings and captions from the time he was studying in Paris and Rome (1833) until the 1870's. The interests of Miller are clearly reflected in these sketches: the theater (a large portion being quick figure drawings of the Ravel Pantomime Troupe), studies of works by the Old Masters, literary illustrations, childhood memories, Baltimore scenery, and witty scenes of characters.Depicted here is one of the original members of the Ravel PantomimeTroupe, a french family that toured America in the middle of the 19th century. The french pantomimes performed in multiple theatres in Baltimore. The shows included tight-rope dancing, ballet, and balancing acts in addition to the pantomime. The plots were so complex they were compared to those of the Italian Opera. As someone who frequented the shows, Miller has provided a view that is almost otherwise unrecorded.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
12760
label
Antoine Ravel as the White Knight
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
4
Source metadata
id
12760
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
Antoine Ravel as the White Knight
description
Baltimore artist Alfred Jacob Miller is known primarily for his paintings of the American West, but his interests extended beyond this subject. A prolific sketcher, he filled many journals with drawings and captions from the time he was studying in Paris and Rome (1833) until the 1870's. The interests of Miller are clearly reflected in these sketches: the theater (a large portion being quick figure drawings of the Ravel Pantomime Troupe), studies of works by the Old Masters, literary illustrations, childhood memories, Baltimore scenery, and witty scenes of characters.Depicted here is one of the original members of the Ravel PantomimeTroupe, a french family that toured America in the middle of the 19th century. The french pantomimes performed in multiple theatres in Baltimore. The shows included tight-rope dancing, ballet, and balancing acts in addition to the pantomime. The plots were so complex they were compared to those of the Italian Opera. As someone who frequented the shows, Miller has provided a view that is almost otherwise unrecorded.
provenance
Alfred Jacob Miller, Jr.; Norton Asner, Baltimore, 1959 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Mr. and Mrs. Perry Bolton [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, June 11, 1968, by gift.
date
1855-1859
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
albums (books)
watercolors
imageCount
4
pageCount
4
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
26.4
height
17.2
dimensionsRaw
H: 10 3/8 x W: 6 3/4 in. (26.4 x 17.2 cm)
Source extras
med
watercolor washes on white paper
creator_ids
4486
collection_ids
EAN
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
f52f6a0d91b77bec
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
9778d1d101739980
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
bff97943c86779db
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
facc0cddb279c9a6
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no