The Jewish Wedding

Artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841–1919)

Artistafter Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798–1863)

Dateabout 1875

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensionscanvas: 108.7 x 144.9 cm (42 13/16 x 57 1/16 in.)
frame: 142.2 × 177.8 × 11.4 cm (56 × 70 × 4 1/2 in.)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Terms

canvas

Object number1943.1

Label TextIn 1875, the French industrialist Jean Dollfus commissioned Renoir to paint a copy of Eugène Delacroix’s well-known 1839 painting The Jewish Wedding in Morocco. Renoir, a great admirer of Delacroix’s use of color and North African subject matter, made a new version of this work, adapting his cutting-edge Impressionist approach to the painting. A varnish layer applied over 70 years ago had yellowed with age, completely obscuring Renoir’s bright palette and lively brushstrokes. A recent cleaning and restoration of the work by Andrew W. Mellon Fellow Maja Rinck recovered the original tonality and lively glow, revealing Renoir’s inventive, modern approach to the subject.ProvenanceCommissioned by Jean Dollfus (1823-1911), Mulhouse, France; art dealer Georges Petit, Paris, by 1912; sold to art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, 1912; sold to James J. Hill (1838-1916), St. Paul, MN; by descent to Gertrude Hill Gavin (1883-1961); M. Knoedler & Co., Inc. New York, NY, 1943; sold to the Worcester Art Museum, 1943.

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