The Supper after the Masked Ball - Thomas Couture

Zita Cogan, Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Franke, Marjorie Glaser, Inez Heginbotham, Frank Hubachek, Prints and Drawings, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Prussian, and John Winterbotham Memorial Funds; Helen Davis Bailey, Robert M. Chase, Stanley Field, Everett D. Graff, The Hannan Fund, Henry Huxley, William McCallin McKee Memorial, Prints and Drawings, Joseph T. Ryerson, Elizabeth Gott Templeton, and John H. Wrenn Memorial Endowments; through prior acquisitions of Paula Gerard, Katherine Kuh, and Ellen N. LaMotte

Drawings European Art Modern Art Prints

"The Supper after the Masked Ball" by Thomas Couture (c. 1855) Woodcut with painted and stenciled additions on tan wove paper, laid down on fabric, and stretched on a wooden stretcher.

Commentary

"The Supper after the Masked Ball" by Thomas Couture (c. 1855) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Themes to notice include woodcut. This piece is held in the source collection's Prints and Drawings co llection. Thomas Couture is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Thomas Couture (French, 1815-1879) printed and manufactured by Jules Desfossé (French, 1816-1889). The work is cataloged within a France cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as woodcut, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Woodcut with painted and stenciled additions on tan wove paper, laid down on fabric, and stretched on a wooden stretcher) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image: 176 × 245 cm (69 5/16 × 96 1/2 in.); Sheet, sight: 176.8 × 235.9 cm (69 5/8 × 92 7/8 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include woodcut. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/150770

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