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The Italian Brigand's Wife

ca. 1825–26
Not on view

Bands of brigands who populated the hills of southern Italy were steady fodder for the Romantic imagination, and their exploits were reported both factually and fancifully. In 1825–26 Cogniet painted three versions of this picturesque scene, in which the wife of a brigand examines a piece of silk just pillaged from unfortunate travelers. The first (private collection) was made for the amateur L. J. A. Coutan as a pendant for Mazzocchi, the portrait of an actual brigand chief by Cogniet’s late friend Achille-Etna Michallon; the second (private collection) was made for one Baron de Jassaud. Cogniet painted this version for himself, and he eventually acquired the painting by Michallon to accompany it.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Italian Brigand's Wife
  • Artist: Léon Cogniet (French, Paris 1794–1880 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1825–26
  • Medium: Oil on canvas, mounted on wood
  • Dimensions: 9 7/8 x 8 1/8 in. (25.1 x 20.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Whitney Collection, Promised Gift of Wheelock Whitney III, and Purchase, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. McVeigh, by exchange, 2003

  • Object Number: 2003.42.10
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Eskimo Sled, Léon Cogniet French, Lithograph
Eskimo Sled
Léon Cogniet
Delpech
1828
Portrait of Théodore Gericault, Léon Cogniet French, Lithograph
Portrait of Théodore Gericault
Léon Cogniet
Théodore Gericault
ca. 1824
The Prix de Rome Winners of 1817: Léon Cogniet, Achille Michallon and Antoine Garnaud, Léon Cogniet French, Graphite on wove paper
The Prix de Rome Winners of 1817: Léon Cogniet, Achille Michallon and Antoine Garnaud
Multiple artists/makers
1817
Portrait of Théodore Gericault, Léon Cogniet French, Lithograph on chine collé
Portrait of Théodore Gericault
Léon Cogniet
Théodore Gericault
1824
The Abduction of Rebecca by a Knight Templar, Léon Cogniet French, Oil on canvas
The Abduction of Rebecca by a Knight Templar
Léon Cogniet
1828 or later

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