Portrait of Philippe Coypel and His Wife - Charles-Antoine Coypel

Regenstein Endowment

"Portrait of Philippe Coypel and His Wife" by Charles-Antoine Coypel (1742) Pastel on blue laid paper, pieced, laid down on canvas.

Commentary

"Portrait of Philippe Coypel and His Wife" by Charles-Antoine Coypel (1742) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Themes to notice include drawings (visual works). This piece is he ld in the source collection's Prints and Drawings collection. Charles-Antoine Coypel is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Charles-Antoine Coypel French, 1694-1752. The work is cataloged within a France cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as drawings (visual works), which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Pastel on blue laid paper, pieced, laid down on canvas) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (90.5 × 73 cm (35 11/16 × 28 3/4 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include drawings (visual works). Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/180545

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data