Artwork

Frédéric Mistral: Mémoires et Recits by Frédéric Mistral: landscape with river and city view/ three figures (insert after p. 72)

Auguste Brouet , 1937

Frédéric Mistral: Mémoires et Recits by Frédéric Mistral: landscape with river and city view/ three figures (insert after p. 72) is a work on paper by Auguste Brouet. It dates from 1937 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Accession no.: 1999.298.19
Credit line: Gift of Carole W. and Charles B. Rosenblatt

About this work

Overview

Created in 1937 by French printmaker Auguste Brouet, this modestly sized landscape drawing is part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection. The work is catalogued under the title referencing Frédéric Mistral’s literary volume, indicating its original placement as an illustration following page 72 of the text.

Subject & Meaning

The composition depicts a tranquil riverbank where three figures are gathered beneath a solitary tree. A book lies open between them, suggesting a moment of shared reading or conversation. Across the water, a distant cityscape rises, its domes and towers rendered in faint outline, linking the intimate scene to a broader urban environment.

Technique & Style

Brouet employed swift, gestural lines to define both foliage and architecture, creating a sense of immediacy. Subtle cross‑hatching supplies tonal variation, particularly in the water’s surface and the shadows of the trees, while the loose handling of detail conveys atmosphere rather than precise representation.

History & Provenance

The drawing was produced as an illustration for the 1937 edition of Frédéric Mistral’s Mémoires et Récits. It entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s holdings through acquisition, though the exact date of purchase is not recorded in the available documentation. The museum continues to display the piece as part of its European prints and drawings collection.