Theodore Chasseriau
(1827-1877)

Venus
 

Theodore Chasseriau was born in the Dominican Republic, but moved with his family to Paris at the age of one. He was a child prodigy and entered the studio of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres at the age of eleven. He also studied with Amaury Duval, and Ziegler. Ingres said of him, “This child will be the Napolean of painting.” He made his Salon debut in 1830, with two biblical subjects, and two portraits.

Chasseriau was attracted to Oriental subject matters very early on in his career, and from as early as 1828, he copied drawings of Arabs and Mamluks from popular prints. It is said that his friendships with Duazats, and Marilhat also had a role to play in his fascination with the Orient.

Two Young Constantine Jewesses Rocking Child
 

In 1840, he followed Ingres to Rome, and while he was there he became interested in the Romantic efforts of Delacroix. Chasseriau was disappointed with his time in Rome, and is quoted as saying, “It is not in Rome that we can see real life.” On his return to Paris in 1841, he received a number of commissions to produce decorations for church, and public buildings. He was commissioned to decorate the church of Saint Merri. This was the first of a series of religious and allegorical paintings produced between 1844, and 1854 for public buildings. In his decorations he sought to exemplify majesty, and sublimity, and his decorations later influenced Gustave Moreau’s symbolist style.

In 1845, he sent a painting to the Salon, entitled, “Caliph de Constantine followed by his escort.” This painting pre-dates his journey to Algeria, and it is thought that he took his inspiration from an evocative passage, describing the pageantry of the Druse Warriors in Lamartine’s, “Voyage en Orient,” published in 1835. It is said that in its scales, and decorative effects, it recalled early Renaissance frescoes, and reflected Chasseriau's involvement with the mural decoration for the Cours des Comptes. In fact it was this mural decoration for the Cours des Comptes in the Palais d’Orsay, which also established him as one of the leading decorative artists of the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, these decorations were later destroyed in a fire. The painting, “Caliph de Constantine,” now hangs in the Musee National du Chateau de Versailles.

Caliph de Constantine


Two Sisters


Peace
 

In 1846, he followed in the footsteps of Delacroix, and traveled to Algeria, where he stayed for two months. This trip was to have a profound effect on him. The watercolours, and detailed drawings that he produced during his time there was to provide inspiration, and material for his work for the next ten years of his life.

Chasseriau was also a prolific draftsman, and like Ingres he drew portraits in graphite, and he also worked as an illustrator, illustrating an edition of Shakespeare’s Othello.

Paintings by Chasseriau can be seen all over the world. The Louvre museum, in particular, has a selection of his portraits, and his Oriental paintings, such as, “Interior of an Arab school in Constantine.” The Fogg Art Museum in the States also holds a number of his paintings, including, “Arab Horsemen Carrying Away Their Dead,” and “Arab Combat.”

Othello and Desdemona in Paris


Joseph, his Brothers' Slave in Egypt


Nymph

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