Artwork
The Quartette (Un quatuor)
The Quartette (Un quatuor) is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist William Turner Dannat. It dates from 1892 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The classification of the artwork as a painting aligns with its material composition, which relies on traditional oil pigments applied to a woven fabric base.
Created in 1884, The Quartette (Un quatuor) is an oil painting executed on a canvas support by William Turner Dannat. The work is characterized by its substantial physical dimensions, measuring 239.7 centimeters in height and 233 centimeters in width. As an oil-on-canvas piece, the medium allows for the depiction of its primary subjects: a woman, a man, and a musician.
The classification of the artwork as a painting aligns with its material composition, which relies on traditional oil pigments applied to a woven fabric base. The sheer scale of the canvas suggests a significant presence within a gallery setting, distinguishing it as a major work in the artist's oeuvre from the mid-1880s.
History & Provenance
The painting titled The Quartette (Un quatuor) was created in 1884 by William Turner Dannat as an oil on canvas work, measuring approximately 239.7 cm in height and 233 cm in width;. It was executed in oil paint and classified as a painting. The artwork entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on display.
Its inception dates to 1884, and it has been part of the museum's holdings since acquisition, reflecting its current ownership chain.
The painting is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, where it is inventoried as 2011.213.1. It was first exhibited publicly at the Society of American Artists in 1884, the year of its creation, and has remained in the museum’s collection since its acquisition in 2011.
Overview
William Turner Dannat's 1892 oil painting, The Quartette (Un quatuor), presents a scene of three individuals within a dimly lit, confined interior. This work, held in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, captures a moment of shared focus or reaction among the figures, whose expressions and postures suggest an engagement with an unseen element. The composition emphasizes the interplay of light and shadow, defining the space and its inhabitants.
Subject & Meaning
The painting features three figures arranged in a close grouping. On the left, a person in a loose white shirt holds a stick and looks upward with an open mouth, suggesting vocalization or strong emotion. A seated woman in a dark dress and hat occupies the center, her hands folded.
Behind them, a man in a dark coat leans forward, also gazing upward, implying a collective response to an event or sound beyond the viewer's sight.
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Artist & collection
Artist
William Turner Dannat was an American artist known especially for paintings of Spanish subject matter.
- The Condemned Cell I
Street Musicians
Condemned cell II
The blind violinist
The Convict (Condemned Cell)
The Siege of Tortona, or The Thirst of the People of Tortona (La Costanza dei tortonesi)
Barricade, the Paris Commune, May 1871
Dance in a Madhouse
Bauerngesellschaft
School of Talmudists
Making Lint
Sketch for the painting “Wernyhora”
