Ludus pro patria (Patriotic Games) | Pierre Puvis de Chavannes | All | European Paintings | Collection Database | Works of Art

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Signed (lower left): P. Puvis de Chavannes

Gallery LabelIn 1861–65 and 1879–82 Puvis executed a group of large, decorative paintings for the Musée de Picardie, Amiens. "Cider" and "The River" (26.46.1–2) are studies for the first murals he painted for the museum. This picture is a smaller replica of the artist's last project for Amiens: a work commissioned in 1879, exhibited in the Salon of 1882, and installed in the museum in 1888.

"Ludus pro patria" depicts a subject from the early history of the province of Picardy. In the center, young athletes, like the ancient Greeks, train with lances, or "picques," in French. A weapon preferred by ancient inhabitants of the region, the picque is the root word for Picardy.

Provenance[Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1895; stock no. 3432; bought from the artist November 1895; shipped December 1895 to Durand-Ruel, New York]; [Durand-Ruel, New York, 1895–97; stock no. 1497; sold February 1897 to Payne]; Colonel Oliver H. Payne, New York (1897–d. 1917); his nephew, Harry Payne Bingham, New York (1917–d. 1955); his widow, Mrs. Harry Payne Bingham, New York (1955–58)

Exhibition History

Paris. Exposition Universelle Internationale. May–November 1889, no cat. number (as "Pro patrià ludus," probably this picture) [see Ref. d'Argencourt 1977].

Paris. Durand-Ruel. "Exposition de tableaux, esquisses & dessins de Puvis de Chavannes," June–July 1899, no. 29 (as "Ludus pro Patria," lent by MM. Durand-Ruel).

London. Hayward Gallery. "French Symbolist Painters: Moreau, Puvis de Chavannes, Redon and their Followers," June 7–July 23, 1972, no. 218.

Liverpool. Walker Art Gallery. "French Symbolist Painters: Moreau, Puvis de Chavannes, Redon and their Followers," August 9–September 17, 1972, no. 218.

Paris. Grand Palais. "Puvis de Chavannes, 1824–1898," November 26, 1976–February 14, 1977, no. 150.

Ottawa. Galerie nationale du Canada. "Puvis de Chavannes, 1824–1898," March 18–May 1, 1977, no. 150.

Athens. National Pinakothiki, Alexander Soutzos Museum. "Treasures from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Memories and Revivals of the Classical Spirit," August 15–November 15, 1979, no. 101.

Paris. Musée d'Orsay. "La Jeunesse des musées: Les musées de France aux XIXe siècle," February 7–May 8, 1994, no. 51.

Venice. Palazzo Grassi. "From Puvis de Chavannes to Matisse and Picasso: Toward Modern Art," February 10–June 16, 2002, no. 11.

Athens. Pinacothèque nationale et musée A. Soutzos. "Paris—Athènes: 1863–1940," December 20, 2006–March 31, 2007, no. 89.

References

Gabriel Mourey. "Some Sketches by Puvis de Chavannes." International Studio 9 (November 1899), p. 17.

"Recent Loans." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 16 (February 1921), p. 41.

Camille Mauclair. Puvis de Chavannes. Paris, 1928, p. 162.

Charles Sterling and Margaretta M. Salinger. "XIX Century." French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2, New York, 1966, p. 228, ill.

Mary Anne Stevens and Alan Bowness in French Symbolist Painters: Moreau, Puvis de Chavannes, Redon and their Followers. Exh. cat., Hayward Gallery. London, 1972, pp. 108–9, no. 218, ill.

Richard J. Wattenmaker. Puvis de Chavannes and the Modern Tradition. Exh. cat., Art Gallery of Ontario. Toronto, 1975, p. 23 n. 4, p. 67.

The Toledo Museum of Art: European Paintings. Toledo, 1976, p. 133.

Louise d'Argencourt in Puvis de Chavannes, 1824–1898. Exh. cat., Grand Palais, Paris. Ottawa, 1977, pp. 167–68, no. 150, ill. p. 170 [French ed., Paris 1976, pp. 169–70, no. 150, ill. p. 172].

James David Draper and Joan R. Mertens. Treasures from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Memories and Revivals of the Classical Spirit. Exh. cat., National Pinakothiki, Alexander Soutzos Museum. Athens, 1979, pp. 258–59, no. 101, ill.

William R. Johnston. The Nineteenth Century Paintings in the Walters Art Gallery. Baltimore, 1982, p. 147.

Aimée Brown Price. Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. Exh. cat., Van Gogh Museum. Amsterdam, 1994, p. 194 n. 1, under no. 107.

Pierre Vaisse in La Jeunesse des musées: Les musées de France au XIXe siècle. Exh. cat., Musée d'Orsay. Paris, 1994, pp. 161, 370, no. 51, ill. pp. 152, 162–63 (color, overall and detail).

Brian Petrie. Puvis de Chavannes. Aldershot, England, 1997, pp. 11, 37, colorpl. X.

From Puvis de Chavannes to Matisse and Picasso: Toward Modern Art. Exh. cat., Palazzo Grassi, Venice. [Milan], 2002, pp. 304–5, no. 11, ill. (color).

Louise d'Argencourt in Puvis de Chavannes: Une voie singulière au siècle de l'Impressionnisme. Exh. cat., Musée de Picardie. Amiens, 2005, p. 186, under no. 177.

Curatorial Department

European Paintings: All