Artwork
René-Charles Dassy and His Brother Jean-Baptiste-Claude-Amédé Dassy
René-Charles Dassy and His Brother Jean-Baptiste-Claude-Amédé Dassy is an unspecified painting by the French Classical Baroque artist Hippolyte Flandrin. It dates from 1850 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 2000.17
- Credit line
- Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
About this work
Overview
This double portrait by Hippolyte Flandrin depicts two brothers, René-Charles and Jean-Baptiste-Claude-Amédé Dassy, in fashionable attire characteristic of the 1850s.
Subject & Meaning
The subjects, aged 25 and 23 respectively, are presented as members of the upper class, with their clothing and accessories conveying social status. René-Charles's embroidered black velvet suit, styled à la grecque, alludes to France's historical support for Greece's independence movement.
Technique & Style
Flandrin's academic style is evident in the emphasis on precise lines over color, a trait reflecting his training under J. A. D. Ingres. The painting features smooth, careful execution, with no visible brushstrokes.
Context
The Greek-inspired fashion worn by René-Charles references the Greek War of Independence, which took place from 1821 to 1832 and garnered French support.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin (23 March 1809 – 21 March 1864) was a French Neoclassical painter. His most celebrated work, Jeune Homme Nu Assis au Bord de la Mer (1836) is held in the Louvre.
- René-Charles Dassy and His Brother Jean-Baptiste-Claude-Amédé Dassy
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