Richard Wagner
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.The female sculptor Jeanne Itasse used industrial ceramics to create this eerily life-like depiction of Richard Wagner, the controversial composer whose music inspired both contempt and devotion in late nineteenth-century Europe. The piece was shown at Maison Bing’s first exhibition in 1895, which introduced Art Nouveau to Paris. The unnatural color of the posthumous portrait calls to mind the greenish tinge cast by the gaslights that illuminated Parisian nightlife, from dancehalls to the opera.
Artwork Details
- Title: Richard Wagner
- Modeler: Jeanne Itasse (French, 1865–1941)
- Maker: Emile Muller (French, 1823–1889)
- Date: 1895
- Culture: French, Paris
- Medium: Glazed stoneware
- Dimensions: 11 7/16 × 11 × 7 1/16 in. (29 × 28 × 18 cm)
- Classification: Ceramics-Pottery
- Credit Line: Lent by The Hearn Family Trust, 2019
- Object Number: L.2019.59
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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