Artwork
A Chief of Abyssinia
A Chief of Abyssinia is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Henri Regnault. It dates from 1870 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
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- Inscribed:lower right: AR
About this work
Technique & Style
Classified as a portrait, the painting depicts its subject within the formal conventions of 19th-century portraiture.
Henri Regnault executed A Chief of Abyssinia in 1870 using oil paint on a canvas support. The work measures 42.23 cm in height and 32.07 cm in width. Classified as a portrait, the painting depicts its subject within the formal conventions of 19th-century portraiture.
The physical condition of the artwork is not detailed in the available records, though its provenance indicates it has been held by major institutions since the late 19th century.
History & Provenance
Henri Regnault created the oil-on-canvas portrait A Chief of Abyssinia in 1870. The work's documented ownership begins with John W. Macartney, a Washington banker who lent the painting to an exhibition there in 1897. It subsequently entered the collection of Rudolph Max Kauffmann of Chevy Chase, Maryland, though it is possible the piece was previously held by his father, Samuel H. Kauffmann, a prominent newspaper owner with a noted private art collection.
Rudolph Max Kauffmann gifted the painting to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington on April 21, 1954. The National Gallery of Art later acquired the work from the Corcoran in 2014.
The painting is currently held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., having been acquired in 2014 from the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Its provenance traces back to John W. Macartney of Washington, who lent the work to an exhibition in that city in 1897. The piece later entered the collection of Rudolph Max Kauffmann of Chevy Chase, Maryland, possibly having been previously owned by his father, Samuel H. Kauffmann.
On April 21, 1954, Rudolph Kauffmann gifted the work to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, where it remained until the 2014 transfer. The National Gallery of Art now lists the work within its collection, maintaining its status as a key portrait by Henri Regnault.
Legacy
The work was displayed in a Washington exhibition in 1897, providing one of the earliest public showings of Regnault’s painting in the United States. Its ownership transferred from banker John W. Macartney to the Kauffmann family before the Corcoran Gallery of Art acquired it in 1954, and the National Gallery of Art later acquired it in 2014, incorporating it into its permanent collection. These institutional milestones reflect the painting’s enduring relevance and its acceptance within major American art collections.
Overview
Henri Regnault's oil painting, A Chief of Abyssinia, created around 1870, presents a focused portrait. The work captures the head and upper torso of an individual, rendered with a palette dominated by warm tones and deep shadows. Visible brushwork contributes to the immediacy of the depiction, characteristic of the period's evolving artistic approaches.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a close-up view of an individual identified as a Chief of Abyssinia. The subject's dark skin tones are rendered against a background of warm yellows and browns, drawing attention to the figure. A bright red cloth drapes across the left side of the composition, merging into the surrounding shadows and adding a striking visual element to the portrait.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Born in Paris on October 31, 1843, Henri-Georges-Alexandre Regnault was the son of Henri Victor Regnault, the celebrated chemist and professor at the Collège de France.
